The Reign of Ganon
by The Gemini Sage
Summary: Ocarina of Time adapt that either butchers or embellishes the canon, depending on how you like your fanfic. This fic is being rewritten; the wordcount is inaccurate.
1. Foreword

**Author's Note: **Hello! If this is your first readthrough, I'd like to warn you that this fic has been completed once, a long time ago; this is a rewrite, on the same "story file" that I first uploaded in 2003. Aside from this first chapter, I've deleted the original. I wasn't going to, at first, but I've decided leaving just this one chapter up will do...

Why leave it up? Well, if you can bear with me a moment...this was not only my very first fanfic; the sentences below are the first I ever typed as a creative writer. This was in 2003, when I was only fourteen, still in middle school. I had been playing video games all my life, from sitting in my dad's lap with the spare (broken) NES controller in my mouth as a baby while he played Kid Icarus the original Legend of Zelda, to chopping up bushes on A Link to the Past for rupees for fun, to getting an N64 for my eighth birthday, my brother and I and struggling to master the 3D controls on our very first adventure to defeat Ganon for ourselves. Middle school was when I discovered the internet (and the _world_), and fanfiction. I had no idea people were allowed to write stories about video games, and, having always loved to read, I scoured the net for every story I could find, ignoring bad grammar and plotholes just to enjoy more of Zelda while I waited on the next game to come out.

One thing I always yearned to find was a completed adaptation of Ocarina of Time, my absolute favorite Zelda game. Before I knew about the internet, I had always dreamed of being able to read it in a book-format. I found a great many stories that tried; one of them even got all the way to the Zora's Sapphire (that was Arxane's story, back when he _was_ only at the Zora's Sapphire!). But none of them got to the point where things got serious, to Link waking up in the Temple of Time missing seven years of his life. And none of them got to the best part, to the final battle with Ganon, where Link is backed into a corner and surrounded by flames, not even his blade at his disposal. None of them got to the end.

Wind Waker had just come out, a great departure from Ocarina of Time, and I felt like many "veteran" fans were yearning for the good ol' days when we rode Epona across the rolling hills of Hyrule Fields and listened to Navi whine about where to go next, fiddling with the ocarina for hours just because we could. (Looking back now, I just think the game itself made me nostalgic; it's fantastic.) I decided that I _couldn't_ be the only person to want to read the story of Ocarina of Time, not with all the half-hearted novelizations floating around already. Since none of them were completed, I was inspired to create my own. I promised myself that no matter what, I would finish it. And eventually, I did.

The original version of this first chapter is proof of that I took the journey with Link to defeat Ganon in a way that most people started but didn't quite finish. That's a little cheesy, but it's true! With every word I wrote, every sentence, I became a better writer. And I realized _loved_ writing; I loved writing the exciting parts, I loved writing the sad parts, I loved writing the ending. But when it was over, I looked back to the first chapter and realized what a great thing it was to write adventures, and I knew I couldn't say goodbye to Hyrule yet, or my newfound passion for the written word. So I kept writing, and I've been writing ever since. Even with Twilight Princess out and beaten on both consoles, I still feel like the greatest adventure I ever had was the one I had in Ocarina of Time. I'm leaving this first, original chapter up as a testament to the improvement in my writing skill, and to keep the memories: the first sentences I ever wrote, back in 2003, and a few of the reviews of all the people who commented and encouraged me along the way. As I write this, seven years have passed since I started writing creatively, the same amount of time that passed between the time Link fell asleep as a child and woke as an adult, so I feel like it's a fitting time to give it another go.

Now my aim is to clean this up and rewrite it with all the skills I possess now. This fic always has and always will be very special to me, and I want to give it the treatment it deserves! At nearly 200,000 words (more by the time I'm done), this will not be a quick or easy process, so bear with me while I do this. I would like to present to you in its highest possible quality my version of the story of Ocarina of Time.

The text you see below here is the first chapter as it was written in 2003. I had no concept of editing back then; I could barely be bothered to correct typos. This is exactly how I wrote it; it's never been changed. I'm not putting it up here to be read; it's just something I've left up for myself. For you, if you've actually been patient enough to read such a long author's note, I'd suggest reading the actual story instead of this. I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Chapter One: The Beginning of the End

A young girl of about ten years old sat brushing her hair on the balcony outside her room. She sighed. Today had been boring, mostly. Her father had brought in some diplomats from other lands, he said, and had done several other important things, but this meant little to her. Her long blond hair fell down around her waist as she got up and went inside, leaving the door open. The sunlight and the calm breeze made her want to take a nap, and she put down the brush and headed for the bed when she something made her stop. She shuddered despite the warm sun. Whatever was down there wasn't a good thing.

Slowly, she turned around, and was about to go back out on the balcony to investigate the voices she heard below at the front gate, but she was stopped when she heard her name from outside her door. Someone knocked.

"Zelda! Zelda, are you in there? Your father wants you to meet his new advisor, and I have to give you the lecture before you can go down and terrorize him, okay?" It was Impa, Zelda's nursemaid and trusted friend. Forgetting about the voices, she grinned and opened the door. "Oh, come on, I've heard it before, can't I just say it to save you the trouble?"

"Afraid not. I have my orders, Your Highness."

Zelda winced at being called by a royal title. "But if I say it, it'll only take a minute or two, instead of a couple of hours. Daddy wanted me down there sometime this year, right?"

Impa laughed. "All right, then, let's hear it."

Zelda scrunched up her face into the most serious look she could muster. "Zelda," she mimicked, "I want you to go downstairs to meet some weird important person that somehow means a lot to this kingdom of Hyrule, and I want you to be good and act like the wonderful little princess I just know you can be. This means a lot to me, so I want you to be on your best behavior, and after they leave I'll bribe you with something, I promise. Okay?" She dropped her look and replied to herself, "Okay, I'll be good, I promise."

Impa laughed again and picked up Zelda's crown and her traditional cloth she wore around her head. Zelda sighed, because as much as she hated wearing these things, she had yet to gain any ground on that argument. With Impa's help, she put them on, and headed down the stairs.

"So," she said to Impa, "Who is this guy, anyway?" Impa sighed and told her, "Your father's new advisor, and, if you want to know the truth, he's the Gerudo King. We're trying to make peace with them, so they'll stop robbing our towns so much. But I don't trust him. Maybe it's because he's a Gerudo, but to me, he just doesn't act right." She looked at Zelda. "I'll let you judge for yourself, but knowing you, you won't so much as look at him before you start thinking up ways to make him miserable, day and night." Zelda was astonished. "He's going to live here?" Apologetically, Impa told her, "Yes, I'm afraid so."

"Just great," Zelda muttered before stepping into the light of the meeting hall. She put on a fake smile, and said to her father, "Hi, Daddy!" She waved to him. Her father was waved back, and called her over. Impa, having done her job, left. She hated these meetings just as much as Zelda did. She preferred to wait in the courtyard, until she was supposed to come and get Zelda.

"So where is he?"

"In the other room over there, talking to someone. He'll be right out."

"Okay."

Her father looked at her and sighed. "Now, Zelda, I want you to be-"

"Behave, I know, I know."

As the door on the other end of the room started to open, Zelda felt the same sensation she had in her room only half an hour before. She shuddered and faked a pretty good sneeze. Her father fell for it immediately. "Is something wrong, honey? Do you feel okay?" Zelda was facing away from him, so she didn't see the person coming out of the room. "I feel a little sick, Daddy. Maybe I'm coming down with something." She wasn't lying by much, she truly felt nauseous and cold. He studied her. "You look a little pale. Why don't you take a nap, and meet him when you feel better?" Zelda managed a small smile. "Okay. Thanks." She hugged him and went straight out the door, before whoever this person was could get any closer.

She found Impa in the courtyard, like she usually was when Zelda decided to play sick. Impa smiled and shook her head. "You got out of it that fast?" Then she saw that Zelda really did look pale. "Hey, you really are sick, aren't you?" Zelda shook her head, then nodded. The truth was she didn't know if she was sick or not. Maybe she was losing her mind.

Zelda broke down, and told Impa everything. About her weird feelings when the man was at the front gate, she now knew it must have been him, and how sick she had felt upon nearly encountering him. She had always had dreams and visions, had always seen what most people couldn't. Dreams about lost items, or what the weather would be like, being able to tell if a person was lying to her or not, all sorts of things. But never anything as sure and strong as this. And never anything this evil.

Impa listened intently, and when Zelda finished, she sat back against the hard wooden bench and told her, "I knew he was bad news." Zelda just nodded. She looked pretty shaken up. "I'm going to have to meet him eventually, aren't I? I don't know if I can do that." She looked at Impa. "Please, don't tell Daddy. You know he won't believe me." Impa replied, "I know, but this guy is obviously up to no good. If he's trying to hurt you or your father, I have to."

And Impa and Zelda did talk to him. As she had predicted, it only made him angry. He and Zelda argued, they argued for a long time. Finally she went up to bed, feeling sad and defeated. In the next few weeks, Zelda began having dreams. This caused her to talk to her father again, and again they argued. One of her dreams was of clouds, lots of clouds, hovering over Hyrule. They were destroying it, ripping it apart, and she cried out in her sleep. But then a light shot through the clouds, pierced their darkness, and chased them out of sight. Just as Impa was shaking her awake, she made out a boy, about her age, with a fairy, and wearing green clothes. He was carrying a green, shining stone.

Impa was getting more concerned over the situation. It seemed no matter what they tried to tell the King, he wouldn't listen. In the following months, Zelda had more and more nightmares, and wouldn't go near the man, but made a habit of watching him through the courtyard window. Always watching and worrying. She acted differently around her father, but he took no notice. The guards now had to use Lord when addressing him, and he gained more and more power.

His name was Gannondorf, King of the Gerudo, and eventually some of the other Gerudo started visiting the castle. Most of them stole things, or tried to, and weren't very friendly, but a few seemed genuinely happy at the prospect of peace, and were nice to Zelda. She felt bad for them, because they didn't realize their king wanted anything but peace.

Zelda, only being ten, did not know how much longer she could keep this up. She had recurring dreams about the boy, and dreams about her father and the rest of her world being utterly destroyed. She had still not come face to face with Gannondorf, until she ran into him one day in the kitchen by accident. This caused her to nearly throw up, and she rushed off before he could say a word.

That night she had a new dream. She was She and Impa were riding on a white horse from their stables, away from a flaming castle, passing a boy, was it the one from her other dream? She had only her locket and the Ocarina of Time with her. She didn't have time to wonder what she was doing with that precious treasure before she saw herself throw it into the moat. Then Zelda watched herself ride out of sight. Another horse appeared.

Deadly black, and wearing armor, the horse reared up, and when he came back down, she could see the rider was Gannondorf. He asked the boy in a deadly whisper, barely audible above the raging storm..

"Where is she, boy? Which way did they go?"

The boy remained silent, but withdrew his sword, which was more like a big dagger, and held up his tiny wooden shield.

Gannondorf laughed, an evil, horrible laugh. His nostrils flared. "So, you think you can defeat me, with those puny toys?"

The boy held his ground.

"You know you can't protect her. No one can."

Still he didn't move or speak.

"Fine! You've got guts, you know, but you don't stand a chance against me."

He held out a gloved hand, which began to glow with an evil, purplish light.

The boy turned around and tried to run away, but the spell caught him in the midriff, and he landed flat on his back on the muddy ground. Gannondorf laughed again, and rode off without another word in the direction she had seen herself and Impa go. A white ball of light hovered around the boy's head, trying to help him, but before Zelda could see anymore, she was being shaken awake by Impa again. She told her about the dream, and finally she could take no more. She cried into Impa's shoulder until dawn.

Little did Zelda know it, but far across the land, in a small, uncharted forest, another boy, dressed in green clothes, was having the same nightmare as she.


	2. Chapter Six: Sneaking In

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time  
By Heather Lynn Zora  
  
Chapter Six: Sneaking In  
  
Link ran out of the forest. He had planned to run until his legs were sore, but when he reached the field, he stopped short. The sheer size of Hyrule Field was completely overwhelming. Never in his life had he seen a place so huge. He stood there so long staring at it that Navi finally caught up with him. "Hey," she said, "Link, are you ok?" He shook his head, continuing to stare at the great plain before him, but in his mind, all he saw was Saria crying, Mido yelling, the Deku Tree as it's leaves shriveled up and died.. Then he sighed, turned back towards his home. For the first time, tears started to well in his eyes. He found it difficult to swallow. He didn't trust his voice. Wordlessly he started walking. He didn't know where he was going, and after about an hour, he found himself in front of a huge stone wall, a drawbridge the only opening. He could hear music and talking coming from inside. It sounded like a lot of people, probably more than he had ever seen. Slowly, he made his way in. Was he even allowed to be here? If he had bothered to look up, he would have seen the majestic Hyrule Castle rising out of the hills and touching the sky. But he didn't. His footsteps echoed across the deserted ally as he walked. Navi had hidden under his hat, not wanting to be seen. Link saw no one in the ally but a man dressed in an official looking suit. He was taken aback by how tall he was. So this is what an adult is, he thought to himself. In his head he heard Navi laughing. Ignoring her, he walked up to the man and said awkwardly, "Excuse me sir, but, could you.uh, could you tell me where I am?" The man chuckled lightly. "You aren't from around here, are you?" He asked. Link shook his head. "Well, this is Hyrule Castle Town, or the Market for short. If you look up there," he indicated toward the castle, "I think you'll notice Hyrule Castle, where Princess Zelda and her father live. And where you just came from is Hyrule Field." Link nodded, not even glancing up from his gaze on the ground. "I just have one other question." The man cocked his head. "What's that?" Link shifted awkwardly.  
  
"Well, is everyone here so.tall?"  
  
The man laughed again. "What's your name, kid?" Link had looked up, and was now staring at the huge castle. "Link." The man looked very startled at this for a moment, but shook his head wistfully. He smiled at Link. "I'm Johan. I work here as a guard for the royal family. Listen, Link, you seem a little lost. Do you have a place to stay?" Link shook his head. "Well, how about you stay at my place? It's right over there, a little inn that's dirt cheap and clean, for travelers like you." Link shook his head again. His eyes dropped back to the ground. He didn't have any money. Johan, seeing what the problem was, offered, "You can stay for free if you need to. I'd really hate to see a kid as young as you out on the streets at night." Link looked up and smiled. "I can stay for free?" Johan nodded. "Great!" Link shouted. "Thanks a lot, sir." Johan laughed. "Don't call me sir, it makes me feel my age. Just Johan is fine." Link nodded. "Thanks, Johan. By the way, do you know how I can get into the castle? You said a princess lives there, and, well, I sorta have orders to find her." Johan shook his head. "That place is so guarded they inspect the birds that fly by. Why do you need to see her?" Link looked around. No one was listening, but it made him uneasy all the same. Timidly he said, "Can I tell you later? It's not supposed to be going around, you know?" Johan nodded. "Sure. Good luck." Link grinned at him, thanked him again, and walked off.  
  
In the Market the noise was incredible. The smells were unthinkable. The crowd was huge. Everything was so colorful, it all looked to be a big blur. He was so used to seeing the earthy colors in the forest that the square seemed to give off it's own light. Not only that, but there were no trees hiding the sun, and Link could see actual sky, and the light made him squint. Everything was so big, so new. Link, however, continued to make his way toward Hyrule Castle, deciding he could see all of this later. It took a lot of self control, but he managed to pull himself away. When he got up so far along the path to the castle, the ground started to take over the stone streets, and the terrain grew a little rocky. Navi came out from under his hat. "Well," she said, "I think we're going to have to sneak past the guards." Link nodded, determined to carry out the Deku Tree's request. He walked up to the gate, and bumped into a girl. She was about his age, with red hair. She smiled at him. "Hi. I'm Malon from the ranch. Is that a fairy?" Navi had tried to duck behind Link, but it was too late. Link was surprised at her bluntness, but he nodded. "Yeah, it is." She studied him. "Hey, fairy boy, would you do me a favor? My dad's in the castle, delivering milk. He probably fell asleep. You look like you're headed that way, since there's no where else to go from here. So, if you find him, would you tell him to come back home please?" Link first thought was, I'm fairy boy? It was a nice change from his old name. But thinking about the past made his heart ache, so he nodded at Malon, and said, "Sure I will," and set off on his way, Navi trailing behind.  
  
Eventually, after scanning the walls around the path, he found some vines to climb. Link was an expert at this, and scaled the wall silently and quickly. He then crossed over a large stone gate, and went back down on the path. He then cut behind trees until he reached what looked like the moat. He was a much better sneak than he thought. "Either that, or those guards are the biggest idiots I've ever seen.." he thought out loud. Navi laughed. Link looked down into the water of the moat, and, deciding there was no other way, dived in. The current was stronger than he thought. In almost no time flat he was being pushed up against a metal grate.  
  
He was running out of air fast, and for a second he was sure he was going to die, but then a strong arm lifted him out of the water. Link coughed. The man attached to the arm was big and burly and a little chubby, too. He was bald, and had a brown beard. Link gratefully thanked the man for saving him. The man laughed. "This here ball of light woke me up. And I couldn't just let you drown. My name's Talon, owner of Lon Lon Ranch." He shook Link's hand. Something stirred in the back of Link's mind. "Hey, your daughter, Malon, right? She's looking for you. She's in the Market." Talon's eyes grew wide. "Uh oh." And all of the sudden he ran off, shouting something about how much trouble he was in. Link shrugged. He had barely gotten a good look at the man. He sat down and gazed at the sky.Then he spied a small hole in the castle wall. He wondered if he could squeeze through it. "Sure," Navi told him, reading his mind. Link glared, but he hopped across to the other side of the moat and landed near the hole. Wriggling through, he found himself in a garden unlike one he had ever seen.  
  
* * *  
  
Princess Zelda sat in her courtyard, looking through the window at Gannondorf. She wondered what he was up to now. Lately, it had been almost six months, hadn't it? Lately she wasn't herself anymore. She was bratty and inconsiderate and rude. She no longer terrorized the cooks, she ordered them around like a complete brat. She hated it, what this was doing to her. She sighed, and continued to stare out the window.  
  
* * *  
  
Link made his way past the first guards patrolling around the hedges, and quickly passed through several more flower beds. He wondered how long it would take to find this girl, and what she would be like. He knocked out the guards as he went by.  
  
* * *  
  
Zelda got up, went over to the edge of the courtyard where there was a tiny moat, and stuck her feet in. Maybe all she needed was to relax. She was only ten, after all.maybe she just needed to kill the pressure. If she didn't, she might start being mean to Impa, too. Then she would really be alone. She didn't want that.  
  
* * *  
  
Link finally came to a stone archway. He silently went in, hoping this princess was in there. If she wasn't, and he found more guards, he was going to find someone else for this job..  
  
* * *  
  
Zelda saw Gannondorf staring at her in that way he did out the window, as if she were some annoying insect he long to stomp on and destroy. He knew she had long ago caught onto him, and for that reason, he hated her. She stood up and backed out of the courtyard. She kept backing up long after he was gone. He scared her so much.  
  
* * *  
  
Link backed into the stone archway, looking for anyone following him. He didn't realize what a dumb move this was until he ran into someone behind him. 


	3. Chapter Seven: A Place to Stay

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time  
By Heather Lynn Zora  
  
Chapter Seven: A Place to Stay  
  
Zelda screamed as someone backed into her. The other person let out a frightened yelp. She whirled around to see who it was. It was a boy, about ten years old. He was wearing green clothes, and was followed by a fairy. Her eyes went wide. The brat in her took over. "Who are you? What are you doing in my courtyard? Guards! Why are you here? Guards!" But it was not the guards that came to apprehend him, since Link had knocked most of them out, but it was Impa. She came running through the archway, looking a bit alarmed. "What's going on here?" Zelda glared at the boy. "Impa!" she cried, "Impa, there's an intruder.."  
  
Link got angry. He could still see the look on Saria's face as he left. He was doing all this out of his own free will, and this girl was treating him like a dog off the street. "Look," he snapped at her, "I don't care who you are, but I'm here to help. I had my orders to find you, Your Highness. I was sent here by the late guardian spirit of my home. I don't know why I was supposed to find you, but I did. I worked damn hard at it too." Zelda gasped at this kind of language, in front of a princess, but Link kept going.. "So now I found you. I'm outta here." Impa stepped forward. "Wait, child. What is your name?" Link glared. He didn't say a word. Zelda glared back at him. "Link," he muttered. "My name is Link." To Zelda's surprise, Impa spoke kindly toward him. "Link, please forgive Zelda. She has been through quite an ordeal lately." Impa spoke to Zelda. "Zelda, this is the boy from your dream. The two of you should have a truce, at least until we can get rid of Gannondorf." Link said sarcastically, "Oh, until we get rid of him? How are we supposed to do that?" Then, realizing how rude he was being, he dropped his tone. "Who is this Gannondorf person anyway? Was he the one who killed the guardian spirit of my home? The Deku Tree?" Impa nodded sadly. "Now, Zelda, tell Link about your dream." Zelda didn't want to. She didn't like him. Not at all. Well.he was a little cute, in a way.No! She would not think it. She refused to. She hated this boy. Impa gave her a stern look, one that said, Either you can tell him, or I'll make you tell him. So Zelda told Link about the dream with the clouds. She left out the one where she saw him die. She thought, Even if I do hate him, and I do.well, I'm not heartless. He shouldn't have to be worrying about that.. Zelda sighed when she was done. She didn't like sharing her dreams with anyone but Impa. It made her feel like a object on display at a museum or something. Link pondered over the dream she described. "So.you think I happen to be the one from your dream." She nodded. Link didn't like her, but it looked like they were going to have to work together. He hated it, but he decided to bear it. For the time being. But if she snapped at him like that one more time. "So," Link said in a calm voice, "How do we get rid of him? I mean, I don't really understand any of this.." Zelda looked at Impa and nodded. She seemed to be giving permission for something. Impa began to speak. "Link, I'm going to tell you a story now. This is a story passed down from generation to generation by Hylians. Link, please, listen carefully."  
  
* * *  
  
Once, long ago, before time itself existed, before Hyrule was born, there lived three golden Goddesses. Din was the Goddess of Power, with flaming arms, and strength beyond all. Faerore was the Goddess of Courage, with a strong spirit, and bravery beyond anything imaginable Nayru was the Goddess of Wisdom, with unspeakable able kindness, and knowledge of all that ever was, and ever will be. These Goddesses, Din, Nayru, and Faerore, descended upon the barren wasteland that was Hyrule. Din, with her strong, flaming arms, molded the earth, made canyons, mountains, and hills. Faerore, with her spirit, and courage, created life itself. Nayru, with her knowledge and kindness, gave the people a sense of compassion, of law and order. Finally, their work done, the Goddesses ascended into the heavens, but not before leaving a symbol of their work. They created the golden Triforce. The Triforce has three pieces, to stand for the three Goddesses. Power, Wisdom, and Courage. These Triforce pieces reside in the Sacred Realm, where no man has ever gone. It is said the one who touches the Triforce will have one wish granted to him. If their heart is pure, the forces within them balanced, and it is a good wish, then this land of Hyrule will see a time of peace and prosperity, and the one who made the wish will receive the Triforce in full, and will help rule the kingdom with Power, Wisdom, and Courage. If the one who touches it has a heart filled with evil, and makes a wish of greed, then Hyrule will see a time of darkness, war, and despair. This person will only get one piece of the Triforce, the piece that is represented most in their heart. The other two pieces will find the ones who represent them, and become one their piece. Their children will inherit these pieces, from generation to generation, until they can defeat the evil, and it is no more.  
  
* * *  
  
"There is only one way to get to the sacred realm, and that is to collect all three Spiritual Stones, and the Ocarina of Time. Then, in the Temple of Time, you must put these stones on the alter, and play a melody with the Ocarina." Link remembered the ocarina that Saria had intrusted to him, and he felt his heart ache. He tried to forget about it and listen to Impa. "This will open the Door of Time, behind which is the way into the Sacred Realm, and the Master Sword. This is the blade of evil's bane, and evil has no power to so much as touch it. The only one who can pull this blade is the Hero of Time. The need for this will only arise if evil gets to the Triforce in it's resting place at the Sacred Realm." Impa didn't tell him the prophecies of a boy who would rise to defeat the King of Evil, who would travel through time to save the entire world, because although she knew this might be the boy, she could very well be wrong. She hoped she was wrong. "Link, we need you to get the Spiritual Stones. Zelda already has the Ocarina of Time. When we get them, we have to get into the Sacred Realm and wish Gannondorf away from here. We have to get to the Triforce before he does. Do you understand?" Link nodded. "You have one already, you know." Link looked at her puzzled. "You mean the Kokiri's Emerald? It's a Spiritual Stone?" Impa laughed. "That is what you call it, yes, but it's true name is The Spiritual Stone of Forest. You need two more, The Spiritual Stone of Fire, and The Spiritual Stone of Water." Link nodded. He was about to ask her where he could get them when all of the sudden, there was a commotion from behind him.. The guards. They appeared at the stone archway, weapons poised to strike. Link had obviously not hit them hard enough. "Who is this intruder?" One of the guards asked Impa. She replied smoothly, "I don't know. He came in here with these weapons, trying to attack the princess. I'm almost done questioning him, and when I'm done, I'll see to it that he is escorted out of here. Go back to your posts, I'm handling this. If you do as I say, I'll be sure not to mention this to His Highness, since that would mean he would know all of you can't even stand up to a little boy." The guards glared, but obeyed. Link looked at Impa, baffled, but with awe. She was good. Zelda scribbled something on a piece of paper, and thrust it in Link's hands. He put it in his pocket, he didn't have time to look at it. Impa waved her hand, and his weapons became invisible. She grabbed Link by the collar, and scowled at him, while trying to maneuver him forcefully to the gate to the Market without hurting him. It didn't take long until they were where Link had met Johan, Link saw him standing near the door of his home through a window. Link told her to stop here. No one was around except Johan anyway. Impa was doubtful for a moment, since he was a guard, but Link assured her Johan was a friend. He didn't know why, but for some reason, he trusted Johan, even though he had just met him. Impa silently walked away, in order to keep the act up, but she whispered in his ear, "Don't lose that paper, it has some valuable information on it. And be careful. We don't want you getting hurt." Impa walked off then, and crossed her fingers for good luck at Link.  
  
Link walked toward the door where Johan had been, and knocked. In a moment the door opened, Johan was standing there grinning at him. "You got caught?" Link shook his head and went inside. "No, the guards I knocked out woke up." The room was very small, with a few crate and pots stacked in the corners, but Link saw no beds, or even tables or chairs. "Hey, Johan? I was wondering, uh.well." Johan glanced at him. "You want to know how I call this an inn when it looks like there's nothing here?" He laughed. "You aren't the first one. Look." He pulled at a big crate, moving it away from the wall. Link was expecting to see a wall behind it, but instead there were some stairs. Johan smiled at him. "You see, I'm not much for crowds, but if I go to Kakariko, I won't get any business. So instead I keep the inn down here, so I can offer it to people who need a place to stay, so it won't be over logged with people like the rest of this place." He started down the stairs, motioning for Link to follow him. The stairs didn't go down very far, and in a moment, Link found himself in a brightly lit room. "It's not really an inn, I guess, since you don't get treated like royalty, but it's room and food, so it works," said Johan. Link looked around in awe. "Did you build this?" Johan smiled. "Some of it. It used to be a secret passage from the Wars, but it was out of use. I fixed it up. It's actually pretty comfortable for being underground." The whole time Johan had been talking, he had been leading Link down a hallway. Now they stopped at the door on the very end. "This is your room. There's not many people here anymore, just you, me and two others, but that just means all the more peace and quiet. You look a little tired, so you can take a nap if you want. I'm serving dinner in a couple of hours, ok?" Link nodded, and Johan began to walk off. "Hey, Johan! Thanks." Johan nodded at Link and continued down the hallway. Link stared at him, wondering how on earth he managed to hold this place down with a day job too.  
  
* * *  
  
When Link awoke from his nap, he found his hat and set off for the front room, realizing he had no idea where the kitchen was. When he got there, though, everyone was eating in the front room by the fireplace. Johan had obviously been off duty for awhile, he now wore normal clothes, and was sitting on one of the couches. A girl of about seventeen or so with red hair and dark skin sat next to him, not eating anything. A man with one eye and wearing purple cloaks over himself sat in the armchair across from them. Link had just entered the room when Johan said, "So, you were tired, weren't you? Food is in there," He pointed to a room to his right, opposite from where Link had came in, "And you can sit in here to eat, Kylia and I can make room for you on the couch. The girl, Kylia, stood up. "No thanks, I'm done anyway, and I'm pretty tired, I think I'm going to go to bed." As Link walked in the kitchen, he heard Johan say, "That's fine, I'll see you in the morning."  
  
Link wondered if any of these people paid rent at all. Johan didn't seem like he would refuse anyone a home here. Even being a guard, this man obviously had a big heart. Link got some soup and returned to the den only to find the other man had left, too. Maybe it was better this way, anyway. He needed to ask Johan some questions, and he didn't want anyone hearing. Johan looked up at him. "Sit down. The PoeTrader, the other man here, went to bed too." Link sat on the big fluffy armchair, and nearly spilled his food when the thing cushioned around him. He bounced on it experimentally once or twice. It was so.bouncy. And fluffy. It was weird. Johan got right to the point of the matter, Link could tell he had been wondering all day. "So, what did you need to see the princess for?" Link started to tell Johan the story, and when he got to the part about getting a fairy, he had to pull Navi out of his hat so Johan would believe him. Navi didn't like being stared at, so she had tried to keep hidden all day, but Johan didn't stare at her, she guessed he must have seen stranger in this place. When Link finished his story, he immediately asked Johan, "Where are these Stones supposed to be at, anyway? I mean, I thought the forest was big, but this place, Hyrule, this is huge. I am never gonna find those Stones if I have to search the whole place over. Johan laughed and said, "I actually think this is kind of a small place, to tell the truth. Hey, try looking at the note. You didn't forget about it, did you?" Link shook his head, even though he had. He unfolded the piece of paper and began to read.  
  
* * *  
  
Link-  
  
You'll need to know this in the future. This is a melody Impa used to play when I went to bed at night. Here:  
  
  
  
This is also a letter of approval. Guards must let you by when they see my signature on the other side. You should be able to find the other two Spiritual Stones with the Gorons and the Zoras. The best of luck, and be careful. As annoying as you are, we can't afford to have you hurt.  
  
~ Princess Zelda of Hyrule  
  
* * *  
  
Link looked at the piece of paper. "What are those?" He asked, pointing at the paper. Johan looked. "Ocarina notes," he explained. "Do you have an Ocarina? If you do, I can show you how to read the notes, so you can work out how to play it." Link nodded, and hesitantly pulled out the Fairy Ocarina Saria had given him just before Mido had forced him away from his home. Link stared at the Ocarina, thinking of Saria. He swallowed hard as his heart once again ached for the forest. Johan noticed that Link was staring at it strangely, and tactfully took his time going to put his bowl in the kitchen and coming back. Link was already trying different ways to put his fingers on the Ocarina, trying to figure out what suited him best. When Johan came back in, Link looked up but didn't speak. He was to bust blowing on the Fairy Ocarina. It made strange sounds, until something like a tune floated around the room. Johan had been watching Link, not helping, until he heard the song Link was playing. It didn't at all resemble what was on the paper. And yet.he had heard that song before. Somewhere, it must have been a long time ago. Suddenly he remembered where he had heard it, and he choked on his coffee. Link looked up at him. "What is it, is my playing really that bad?" Johan shook his head. "Link, where did you come up with that?" Link looked thoughtful for a moment, then shrugged. "What, the song? I don't know, I think I heard it a long time ago, maybe Saria played it once for me." But he quickly put it out of his mind, because thinking of Saria hurt. "Why?" Johan shook his head again. "No reason. No reason at all." Link shrugged and went back to blowing, Johan brooding on the lost melody the whole time. After awhile Link felt confident enough to say, "So, do you think I could learn how to read those now? I'm getting a little better at this." Johan took the paper, and showed link the little engravings near the holes on the Ocarina, and how they matched up. In almost no time, Link was able to play the melody correctly. Johan was impressed at how quickly he had learned the instrument. Most people took at least a month or so before they were able to translate notes and come up with their own songs. He certainly had.  
  
Link studied the Ocarina a little while more, and started blowing on it again, but after awhile he ran out of breath and started feeling light- headed, so he stopped and put it away. Then, reading the note again, he realized that he had no idea what a Goron or a Zora was. "Hey, Johan, what's a Goron?" He asked. Johan said, "Well, Gorons look like big boulders, and they need heat to survive, so they live on Death Mountain. The only way to get there is from Kakariko." Link looked at him strangely. "And what's a Kakariko.?" Johan laughed. "Not a what, a where. Hang on." Johan went to the corner of the room, and opened a locked trunk. After shuffling through some pictographs and some other things, he came to a piece of old, yellowing paper. He took it out and re-locked the trunk. "Here," he said. He handed Link the piece of paper. Link, upon unfolding it, discovered it was a hand drawn map. It looked very detailed. There was a huge blank space where his home was supposed to be. "Who drew this?" Johan looked at the map. "One of my best friends. He never knew about the forest, so of course he couldn't draw it in. I'd like to see what the forest looked like, though, so maybe you could one day." Link nodded. He followed the map with his eyes until he reached the front gate where he had come in. "So where do I go from here?" Johan showed Link a path to get to Kakariko, and then Death Mountain. He studied Link's shield. "Listen, Link, Death Mountain is pretty rough, it's pretty famous for having small eruptions often and without warning. Luckily, they're so small they don't reach the village below, but anyone on the mountain should be careful. Your shield is wooden, and it could catch fire. So I think you need a better shield, you can get one in town. If you tell them I sent you, they'll let you have it for free. I'm a friend of the guy who owns the shop. You need to do that before you go into Death Mountain tomorrow." Link nodded again. "Thanks." He stretched and yawned, and his cap fell off of his head. A sleeping Navi woke up and fussed at Link for moving too much. Johan laughed and suggested they all go to bed. Link agreed. He went back to his room, and without bothering to take off so much as his hat, collapsed onto the bed. He fell asleep immediately. 


	4. Chapter Eight: Gorons and the Graveyard

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time  
By Heather Lynn Zora  
  
Chapter Eight: The Gorons and the Graveyard  
  
When Link awoke the next morning, it was to Navi yanking on one of his long, pointed ears. His dreams, which had been filled with thoughts of home and big spiders turning into Mido telling him to save Hyrule, hadn't let him get much sleep, but he couldn't ignore the fairy, so he sat up. Navi stopped yanking on his ears, and flew down to the floor to retrieve his cap, which had fallen under the bed. Her muffled voice floated up to him. "Johan made breakfast, but he didn't want me to wake you." She started yanking on his ear again, after dropping the hat backwards on his head. "We- need-to-get-going!" With every word, her yanks grew increasingly annoying. Link groaned, the let himself fall back on the bed, and started swatting at her. "Hey!" she yelped. Link finally swung his feet over the side of the bed and got up. He smoothed out his hair a little, and walked down the hall to where Johan was getting ready to go out on duty. As Link rubbed sleep from his eyes, Johan told him, "Breakfast is in there, I'd stay but I need to go out on duty. I'm stationed at the castle today." Johan paused. "Hey, you're the first one up, did that fairy wake you?" Navi flew out from under Link's hat. "That fairy has a name, you know." Johan shrugged. "Sorry." Link nodded, and glared at Navi. "She used the methods of yanking on my ears." He swatted at her again.  
  
A few minutes later, after Link had eaten, he climbed the stairs to go outside. He headed for the Market, and after asking for directions, located the Bazaar. With a little difficulty, he opened the heavy door and went inside. The manager was bigger than Talon, and for a moment Link actually thought he was a gorilla, but he turned out to be very friendly. He gave Link what he called a Hylian Shield, a big blue shield that almost knocked Link to the ground when he put it on. It wasn't wooden, but it was heavy. Link thanked the man and left, figuring the only way to get used to it was use it.  
  
Consulting his new map, Link found his way to Kakariko Village. Unlike the Market, this place had no loud music and talking, on the contrary, the loudest noises he heard were clucking noises from cuccos and the steady beating from the windmill. Houses were the only buildings apart from the windmill and something under construction next to the small well that sat in the middle of the small town. Link wanted to explore, after all, now that he was out of the forest-his heart gave a tug-now that he was out of the forest, he could do whatever he liked. But Navi, who had discovered yanking on his ears was a good method of persuasion, wanted him to head toward the massive mountain that had to be Death Mountain. Grumbling, Link obeyed, trying not to step on all the cuccos he found along the way, but this had put him in a very bad mood. He was tired of being told what to do. As he reached the bottom of the huge volcano, he realized there was a gate standing in his way. Next to the gate was a guard. Link approached him, wondering if this was the nice type of guard or one like the idiots at the castle. Navi, reading his thoughts from under his hat, snickered.  
  
As politely as he could in his sour mood, Link asked the guard, "Excuse me, sir, but would you mind opening this gate? I need to get up the mountain.." The guard looked at him and grunted. He said sarcastically to Link, "Can the widdle boy wead the sign? Does he know it says nobody can go up the big mountain? Or maybe the widdle boy can't wead yet, is that wight?" He sneered. Link automatically reached for his sword-this was an idiot from the castle, obviously-but Navi told him telepathically, Wait! Use the letter Zelda gave you. He isn't worth your time.  
  
Link snarled at the guard and gave him the letter. "Open the gate, bonehead," he said harshly. He wasn't in the mood for this right now. Maybe he was a Kokiri and maybe he would never grow up, but he was not a little kid. The guard, who was beside himself with anger, opened the gate, but called after Link, "I hope the widdle boy doesn't get wost!"  
  
Link stalked up the path. For a mountain, the bottom was surprisingly easy to climb. Even Princess Brat could have done it. However, Link realized all too soon that there was a very good reason they called it Death Mountain. On the way up he encountered more monsters than he had in the Deku Tree. Slashing his way up the path, Link noticed that the ground was starting to shake. Wait a second. he thought, ground didn't shake on its own.so that must mean..  
  
Link looked up the path and saw a boulder, bigger than life, coming right at him. He yelped and ducked out of the way, landing on a clearing next to a cave that was sealed up by another boulder. Hot air was coming out of the cracks, along with a slightly reddish glow. Nearby Link, another boulder began to move. Link eyed it warily. Nothing would surprise him now.  
  
Or so he thought. The last thing he was inspecting was for the boulder to sit up and introduce itself, but it did.  
  
"Hi," it said, in a deep, slow voice. "I'm Leenoch-Goro, a Goron. And who are you?" Link was caught off guard. He had never seen a boulder talk to him. Then something clicked into his brain. Forgetting his own name, he asked the rock, "D-did you say Goron?" The rock nodded and stood up. "Yes, I live near the top of the mountain, where all the heat is." Link looked over at the cave. "C-can you tell me what's in there?" Link stuttered, still in a state of shock. Leenoch looked at the cave sadly. "We used to eat rocks there, we can only eat the soft one that come from the lava, you see. But then it became very dangerous. Dodongos started multiplying by dozens. Then, an evil man came to our city, and told Big Brother he wanted the Goron's Ruby. Big Brother wouldn't give it to him, and he blocked up the cave, so we couldn't go in at all. He said he would only unblock it if we gave him the Ruby. But Big Brother still won't do it. And now we'll all starve to death." The Goron sighed. "I run the shop up at the city, but no one bothers coming anymore, because there are no bombs left. We grow them, but lately we haven't been able to, because of the rock shortage. We need rocks from the cavern to fertilize them, you see." The Goron sighed again, and went back to being a rock. Link looked at him closely. He had fallen asleep.  
  
"They eat rocks. Right." Navi flew out from under his hat. "You expected them to eat something else, living on a mountain?" Link just shook his head. "That man he was talking about, that has to be Gannondorf, right?" Navi bobbed up and down, her version of nodding. Link took another look at the hungry Goron. "We'd better hurry."  
  
Link continued up the path, which was now free of monsters and boulders, until he reached a small opening in one of the mountain's walls. On a hunch, he went closer to inspect it. There was light coming from inside. He heard some noises, that sounded oddly like that boulder did, rolling down the hill. He was sure this was the city. He went inside cautiously. These Gorons were huge. He wondered how big the Big Brother was. When he got inside, Link gasped. He expected to see a flat place, very simple, with a few stone huts. He was mistaken. The dwelling went deep into the ground, several floors of solid rock had either been carved out or eaten away. Boulders rolled around the paths, traveling around. Taking a closer look, Link saw that the boulders were actually Gorons, using their massive rock like forms to roll around. Near the bottom, a giant pot was in the center, filled with steaming, bubbling water. Three ropes suspended a small platform in midair above the city, and there was a Goron on it, even though Link couldn't imagine how he got there.  
  
Using staircases that had probably been long forgotten by the rolling stones, Link made his way down to the bottom of the pit to question the other Gorons about the Ruby. He found out that Big Brother, whose name was actually Darunia, had taken the Stone and shut himself in his room, waiting from a messenger from the Royal Family to come and aid the Gorons in their time of need. The King was Darunia's Sworn Brother, since the had aided each other long ago in what the Gorons referred to as the Wars. Link still had no idea what the Wars were, and when he asked, the Gorons just shook their heads and said, "Bad times, bad times.." And refused to answer any questions. What annoyed Link even more was that Navi said the same thing.  
  
After being interrogated by Link one too many times, she testily changed the subject by mentioning that Link should probably try to find Darunia. Link went to the door that supposedly led to his room, but it was solid stone, with no knob or switch to open it. He thought about what the Gorons had told him.a messenger.from the Royal Family..  
  
"Of course!"  
  
He said these words out loud, remembering the letter from the esteemed princess. Rolling his eyes at the thought of her, Link grabbed his Ocarina, put it to his lips, and tried to remember the melody he had struggled over at the fireplace in the Inn. He played the notes slowly, and they echoed across the noisy city. The door slowly slid open. Hesitantly, Link walked inside. There was a short stretch of a darkened hallway, and at the end was the biggest Goron of them all. There was no doubt about it, this had to be Darunia. There was, as with Death Mountain, a very good reason he was called what he was. While most Gorons stood at least two feet higher than Link's four and a half, this Goron towered over him, almost twice his height. He had more muscles, more body fat, thicker bones, bigger fists, and a much bigger mouth. The minute he saw Link, his face turned from expectant to angry, and he stormed over to Link, yelling at him, "Get out of here! I need to see a messenger, not some pathetic little kid!" Link was reminded forcefully of Mido. He tried reasoning with the raging Goron. "I need the Spiritual Stone, please, I came from the Royal Family, we need the Ruby so all this will stop happening!" Darunia stopped and looked at him. "I'm not sure I trust you. I think you know about our problems. These are Goron matters. We don't need help from strangers." He wouldn't say any more, so Link left, feeling stupid and defeated. On his way out of the city, one of the Gorons looked at him and shook his head sadly. "Big Brother used to be happier. He loved music and dancing. But now.." The Goron sighed and fell down into a rock position. Link walked out of the city.  
  
"So now what? I just explore until his temper cools off?" The trail was now clean of monsters, so Link was able to hike down with no hands. He threw them in the air in frustration. Even Navi agreed there was nothing else to do. "I guess until I come up with some great idea, we'll just bide our time." She sounded so disappointed. Link reached the bottom of the mountain. The guard wasn't there. Link decided the first place he wanted to look was the Graveyard. It seemed, well, creepy, but he wanted to see it anyway. He was drawn to it by curiosity. After all, he had lived in the forest all his life. He knew nothing about death.  
  
Slowly, quietly, he walked in the Graveyard. It was becoming night, whatever he wanted to do, he needed to finish soon. No one was there but him. He walked along the path, looking at names and numbers that meant nothing to him. At the middle of the Graveyard, he saw three graves, two large ones and a smaller one, that looked quite lonely. He bent over to inspect them. The first one read:  
  
Alanai, faithful friend, loving wife of Samuel, and caring mother of twenty  
three years of age. Died during the Wars.  
  
Link frowned. What were these wars? It was driving him crazy! He bent down to see the second grave. It read:  
  
Samuel, Head Knight of the King's army and swordsman for the Royal Guard. Faithful friend, loving husband of Alanai, and proud father of twenty five  
years of age. Died in battle in the Wars.  
  
Link started to get a funny prickling on the back of his neck. Chilly wind whispered softly over the quiet Graveyard as he bent over the third and final grave, smaller than the others..  
  
"Link!"  
  
Link jumped and turned around. Navi, from the entrance, had called him. The sky was getting dark, and it wasn't just from lack of sun. It looked like it was about to rain. He glanced back at the last grave, not reading it, and shivered. He started toward the exit, but in his haste, accidentally stepped on one of the graves near the front.  
  
His stomach clenched as he felt his foot sink about six inches into the soft ground.  
  
He tried to dislodge it, but it only sank deeper. He put his weight on his other foot, but it only got as deep in as his other foot. He knew better than to push with his hands. He started seeing strange flitting lights around him. Was this place haunted at night? By this time, Navi had flown over to help, but there was nothing she could do except pull on his ear, which was a useless effort. The ground was around Link's knees now. He was sinking deeper and deeper, the ground sagging under his weight. It pressed tightly around his legs. Cold wet mud now reached to his waist, and he had lost feeling in his knees down. Link felt sick as he realized there was no way out. He struggled, but he only sank deeper. Navi was shouting, but he couldn't hear her. His ears were ringing.  
  
The dirt had gotten up to his chest when it broke away and Link started to fall into the dark, cold, depths of a tomb. 


	5. Chapter Nine: The Sun's Song

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time  
By Heather Lynn Zora  
  
Chapter Nine: The Sun's Song  
  
Blackness.  
  
All Link could see around him was darkness, a cold, silent darkness, in which there seemed to be no hope for light or sound.  
  
But then there was a light. Link sat up, and heard someone moan in pain. Sound. Was he alone? Then he realized it was himself that was moaning. His head hurt a lot. That light was too bright. Where was it coming from? He shook his head, but then stopped, because it hurt. He tried to speak, but another low moan was the only thing that worked its way past his lips.  
  
"Link?" Who was that talking to him?  
  
"Link?" The voice was more persistent. Finally he managed to speak.  
  
"Navi?"  
  
The light moved closer. "Thank the Goddesses you're okay." Link didn't think he was okay. His head felt like there were a hundred Gorons stomping on it. He groaned again. "Where are we?" Navi sat down on his shoulder. "Try and think, it'll clear your head. Do you remember?" Mud.sinking.falling.. His thoughts were disconnected and blurry. Then it hit him that he was in a grave. He swallowed hard to keep from getting sick. "I remember." Navi flitted around the room, then up to where he had fallen from. There was no light coming from it. He had been out of it for a long time. Navi flew back down. "It's raining, really hard. There's no chance of getting out like this. And even if there was, we'd need shelter from the storm." Link stared. "Are you suggesting we spend the night in this-this tomb? Sorry, I don't think so." Navi sat back down on his shoulder. "There could be ghosts up there. And besides, it's not like we have a choice." She said this lightly, as if it was no big deal. For some reason, that calmed Link down a little. No big deal. He took a deep, slow breath. He felt much calmer now, and even his curiosity was returning. He actually wanted to explore a little. He got up, and using Navi's light, walked over to the door on the other side of the room. He was to nervous, he couldn't sleep anyway, what was there to lose? A lot, he told himself. I'm being stupid, I shouldn't be doing this..  
  
Apprehensively, he opened the door. There was no longer a need for Navi's light. Glowing green acid was sitting in puddles around the room. There were also.tall piles.of.mud..  
  
With a yelp Link realized these things were alive, they were some sort of zombie.. "ReDeads," Navi whispered. "Run, get out of here! Link, RUN!" But Link couldn't move. He was rooted to the spot, paralyzed with terror. One of the ReDeads was moving toward him..  
  
With a snap Link came back to his senses, but it was too late. The ReDeads had all cornered him, there was no way out. He turned around to go back, but the ReDeads had blocked that door, too. Link saw no choice. He ran at one of the horrifying creatures, sword raised. The creature was hurt, the sword had went straight through it. Link had felt the sword pulling through whatever the ReDead was made of. He shuddered and ran straight for the door on the other side of the room. When he got in, it banged shut behind him. What if that thing had gotten to him? Where would he be now? Worse than dead, more than likely. Navi, who had hidden under his hat as they had gotten too close, peeked out hesitantly. "Are.are they gone?" Link shook his head. "No. I.I outran them." He looked around. "Well," said Navi, "There's nothing we can do. Maybe help will come, but we can't get past all those things on our own. The only thing that can truly cripple them is sunlight. And we're in a grave. No one will look for us in a grave." Her voice sounded hollow, and Link noticed her usually bright, optimistic, glow had faded a little. That scared him, because she was usually positive about everything. Rather than focusing on his growing sense of panic, he decided to take a look around. There were walls on all sides. No way out.  
  
He went to the wall in front of him, even though he knew what had to be behind it. Repressing a shudder, he ran his hand along it. He was fascinated by death, even if it was in a oddly unnerved way. The smooth surface of the wall was suddenly broken by some type of engraving. He ran his fingers over the engravings, trying to read them through the darkness. Navi flew over to help. She read out loud:  
  
"The rising sun will eventually set; a newborn's life will fade. From sun to moon, moon to sun; give rest to the living dead. Day to night, night to day, this song will chase the darkness away. Souls wander where they don't  
belong; bring them rest with the Sun's Song."  
  
Navi continued to read the words that had been carved below the song. These words looked sloppy, as if someone had been weak when they carved them, or as if it were done by someone other than a professional.  
  
"This song was composed by the Royal Family's Composers, the Sharp and Flat brothers, who died rather than tell their secret to the King of Evil. May  
their restless souls one day rest in peace."  
  
Link studied the writing. "How.cryptic." He brushed his fingertips brushed over the writing, feeling the smooth surface being broken by final sentiments that had to have been carved very painstakingly into the wall. "The King of Evil? That must mean.." He ran his fingers over the words again. But this time, he felt something else below it, that he hadn't noticed before. "What's this?" he said out loud. Navi peered over to where he was looking and flew lower to help him see. "Ocarina notes," she breathed. Link looked at the wall closely. Sure enough, there were six small engravings on the wall. He pulled out his own Ocarina. He could play it okay, but he wasn't sure if he could work out these notes without help. But there was no one there to help them now. He had nothing better to do, so he tried to play the notes. But it was more difficult than he thought. He kept missing notes. Even though he didn't know what the tune was supposed to sound like, he could tell when it was wrong. After awhile, he got frustrated and bored, so he started playing whatever came to his mind.  
  
The melody that he had played in the Inn came floating up in his memory. He mulled over the song as he began to play. Navi recognized it, and said, "I wonder why Johan acted so surprised when you played that last night." Link had been wondering the same thing, but he just shrugged as he continued to wind his way through the melody. Johan had been acting weird, though. Link had only known him for awhile, but he could tell when he was having his funny moments. Link thought back to when he had introduced himself. Then he remembered how Johan had acted when he played the song. What was it, anyway, that made him act so.strange? He blew on the Ocarina, lost in thought.  
  
After awhile, he got bored of that, too. He started working out the notes on the wall again. He was sure he was getting it right now. Now that he knew what it was supposed to sound like, he could play it. He practiced it over and over until he had memorized it, then, being very bored, he put on a show for Navi, and played it perfectly all the way through. He heard a funny swishing noise from where the ReDeads were, but he was determined to ignore them. After awhile, he got bored again, and he switched back to the other song he had been playing. Navi, who had floating near the door, suddenly said to Link, in no more than a whisper, "Link, look, they're frozen." Link stood up and crept silently to where she was floating. "What?" Navi turned to face him. "The ReDeads. They're frozen. We can get out now." Link stared at her. "Frozen? But how? Why?" Navi said, "The Sun's Song. The only thing that can cripple a ReDead is sunlight. That song.it must have something to do with it. Come on, let's go." Link, led by Navi, silently opened the door and started to walk quietly across the room, still fearful they might snap out of their trance. The ReDeads were standing near the door, all of them, but they were solid white and frozen stiff. They seemed to glow eerily.  
  
Link slowly made his way back to where he came from. To his shock, the room was filled with sunlight. He could see the hole where he had fallen through. But, how? He had been in this grave a very long time, several hours, but not long enough for the sun to rise again. He could see clouds above. It had stopped raining, but the ground was now soggy, and the sky was overcast. He stared at the sky above, so glad and happy to see light, after he thought he'd be in a dark tomb forever. Even though he knew he was still trapped, there was no way up, at least if he died, he could see light. And it gave him hope. Surely if he yelled, someone would hear him. He was still gazing at the sky when Navi muttered something behind him. He tore his eyes away from the hole above him to turn around and look at her. "What?"  
  
"From sun to moon, moon to sun.."  
  
Link stared.  
  
"Day to night, night to day, this song will chase the darkness away.."  
  
"Uh, Navi? What are you talking ab-"  
  
He was interrupted by her shouting at him, "Of course!" Link stared at her again. "Excuse me?"  
  
Navi said in a state of wonder, "That song, it must have power to control the night and day. That's what froze the ReDeads, and made it daylight outside. Don't you see? Gannondorf must be the King of Evil the engraving was referring to. He must have thought the power would be useful. And killed the brothers, because they wouldn't help him.."  
  
"Alas, someone else can finally know the true causes of our deaths."  
  
Link yelped and spun around, Navi right behind him. Standing there were two figures, dressed in fancy clothing. They were both holding lanterns which seemed to make their whole bodies glow, and everywhere on their clothes was the marking of the golden Triforce. Link couldn't see their faces, or their feet. They seemed to be floating. But that wasn't possible, was it? Or maybe it was.  
  
Because no matter how hard Link tried, he couldn't ignore the fact that he could see straight through them..  
  
His eyes wide, he swallowed hard and choked out, "N-Navi? Navi, y-you see that too, right? I.I'm not h-hallucinating, am I?" Navi seemed to be at a loss for words. After a long moment of staring at the figures, Link screwed up enough courage to stammer, "A-are you.g-ghosts?" The taller of the figures stepped forward. His clothes were red, as were his eyes, which glowed under the hat he was wearing. "Please," he said, and Link could tell this was the one who had spoken earlier, "I must ask of you not to be alarmed by us, as hard as that must be." He paused. "Yes, we are ghosts. We were murdered by Ganon." Link shook off his shock long enough to say, "Who's Ganon? Don't you mean Ganondorf?" The ghost shook his head. "No. His real name is not Ganondorf, as most would think. In ancient Gerudo tongue, this name is translated to mean fire. But his true name, Ganon, can be translated to mean the word that describes him perfectly." Link knew what the ghost meant, before he even said it.  
  
"Evil."  
  
"If anyone knew this, he would certainly be found out. He is evil, but clever. He changed is name on purpose. He couldn't take any chances that someone would know the ancient language." The ghost stopped speaking. "But how rude of me, I haven't properly introduced myself." The other ghost stepped forward. His clothing was blue, and his eyes were bright yellow and glowing brightly "We are the Composers of Hyrule's Royal Family," he said. "I am Sharp, and this is my elder brother, Flat." Both ghosts took their hats off and gave a low, sweeping bow. Link still couldn't see what they looked like. They were hidden in the shadows, and the lanterns seemed to only illuminate their clothes. The rest of them seemed to be either too transparent to see, or jet black, so they blended with the shadows around them.  
  
The brothers stood straight. "And, you, young man," said Sharp, "Might I ask who you are?" Link was still in a slight state of shock. It took a moment for him to find his voice. "M-my name's Link." The brothers glanced at each other at hearing this. They seemed surprised, almost the way Johan had. But Link was too busy trying to make his brain understand that there were actual ghosts standing in front of him to be curious or ask questions.  
  
"Link," Flat repeated. "So you are the legendary hero the prophecies speak of." Link was more stunned still. "Hero? Prophecies?" Navi seemed to find her voice as she flew up to the ghosts and said, "Please, he's only ten years old." She had her back turned to Link, not wanting to see his curious face full of questions that she couldn't bring herself to answer. She couldn't deny it forever, all the hardships he would eventually have to face. But she also couldn't deny the fact that he was ten years old, too young to have to learn what he was destined for now.  
  
Sharp began to speak, obeying Navi's wishes. "You have many hard times behind you, and more ahead. You'll understand when the time is right." Link wanted to ask what he would understand, and wanted to ask why they were all keeping secrets from him. But as much as he didn't like it, the Deku Tree had told him to listen to Navi. And he trusted her. So he asked them instead, "Why did Ganond- I mean, Ganon, want to kill you anyway? Was it really because of the song?" Flat nodded sadly. "Alas, he wanted the power to control the sun, in order to help his attempt to put our fair land under his evil darkness." Sharp continued the story. "We were not afraid of death, but something far worse. We were afraid of the land under his control. We knew of his evil plots. The only one who believed us was Impa, the nursemaid of the Princess." Link rolled his eyes. "Listen, I think that girl is cracked anyway, she's a complete br-"  
  
Flat interrupted Link. "She has been through more than you know. The strain on her has been affecting her mood and state of mind. She, like us, knows the truth. And no one will believe her."  
  
"We talked only to Impa of the matter, and no one else," Sharp continued. "The Princess does not know how we died. No one does. Except for you two, and Impa. The castle thinks we were trampled by horses on an unsupervised visit to Lon Lon Ranch. The truth was, Ganon murdered us with a spell that stunned us so we could not move. We tried to fight it off, but we were not strong enough of the body or the heart. In the end, we died, rather than tell him, even at the last minute, in all that pain. Because of the power of the curse, anyone who is unable to fight it off and try to get up and move will die the most painful death he can inflict upon a person. He had been threatening us for a month. Finally, realizing we would never tell our secrets, or give him the melody, he killed us. You see, he was also afraid we might tell the King what was going on. He knows how much the King trusted us. He thought he might be exposed."  
  
Flat sighed. "Now you know about how we died. You know the truth, and you must stop Ganon. As much as we wish we could help, there is not much we can do. Not as ghosts." Sharp looked at Link. "How did you get down here?" Link had to explain about how he had been reading gravestones, and how the storm came, and how when Navi called him back, he stepped on the grave and fell in. "And," he finished, "We don't have a way out. We're stuck." Sharp and Flat glanced at the hole above them. "Not being solid," Flat said, "We cannot directly help you. However, at night, Dampé the grave keeper makes his rounds. I'm sure we could attract his attention, as he is the only one nearby who is not frightened by ghosts." Sharp answered Link's question before he even asked it. "Oh, yes, the Graveyard is indeed haunted." Flat nodded his agreement. "But, I fear if you wait until night, the creatures guarding our bodies will unfreeze. They will know you're here, and they can break through that door if they want to."  
  
"We will stand over the grave until nightfall, when Dampé will arrive," Sharp said, starting to rise toward the surface. "Wait!" Link called. "Didn't you say that-" Flat nodded. "Yes, that will take too much time. But did you not just memorize the song that will change the sun to the moon?" And with that, they disappeared to the ground above.  
  
Link still had his Fairy Ocarina in his hand. He raised it to his lips and played. Once again, he heard a swishing noise. Then everything went dark. 


	6. Chapter Ten: In the Forest

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time  
By Heather Lynn Zora  
  
Chapter Ten: A Warning in the Forest  
  
Link drew his breath in sharply as he saw the sky darken around him. He was now back where he started. Alone in a dark tomb. Wait a second.he wasn't supposed to be alone, and it definitely wasn't supposed to be dark..  
  
Where was Navi?  
  
He looked around him, and once again saw no sign of light or hope, exactly like when he fell in the grave to begin with. "Navi?" He made his way toward a wall so he'd have something to guide himself with. "Navi? Navi, where are you?" It was way too quiet. Even for a grave. The silence seemed to be pushing at him from all sides. His scalp started to prickle.  
  
Suddenly, there was a bang from the door where the ReDeads were. Link jumped, startled. Of course. It was night. They were awake again..  
  
Where was Navi? When the sun had gone down again, she had been under his hat. He had felt her push the hat away and fly out, but to where, he had no idea.  
  
Another bang, louder this time.  
  
As Link faced the door, another bang reached his ears, and something that appeared to be a white streak of lightning bolted through the keyhole. Link knew at once this was Navi, but he had no time to ask her where she had been or why. "They're awake, all right," she panted. "They're trying to break down the door-"  
  
She stopped as she heard a voice from above them. Neither Link or Navi could tell what the voice had said over the banging, but in a moment, a rope fell down from somewhere above them. Link grabbed on, and before he could start to climb, a force much stronger than him was pulling the rope upwards with ease. Link felt his feet leave the ground just as terrifying dark shadows entered from what had once been a door. The ReDeads had escaped.  
  
Before he knew what was going on, Link found himself being pulled out of the hole into fresh air on the ground. Above the ground. He saw two pairs of eyes, one glowing red, the other yellow, disappear quietly back into the ground. He was almost sure he could hear the wind whispering to him, "Good luck, young hero."  
  
"May the Goddesses be with you on your journey."  
  
He looked up at his rescuer. This must be Dampé. "Thank you," Link said. "I thought I was finished." The gravekeeper nodded. "Yeah," was all he said. He stared up at the sky thoughtfully. "Ghosts never stand guard above their graves without a reason."  
  
"Listen, boy, what were doing in that grave in the first place?"  
  
Link again told the story of accidentally falling in. Dampé nodded again. "Never had that happen before. I'll seal it up tomorrow night. Then no one can get in, accident or not." He glanced at Link. "You saw the ghosts?" Link nodded. Of course he had. They had been there, hadn't they? How could he not have seen them?  
  
"Never thought I'd meet someone as young as you who could see them. Never thought I'd meet anyone at all who could see them." Link was confused. "Can't everyone see them?" Dampé shook his head. "Nope. Hardly anyone can see them, unless they been living around them their whole life." Link was startled. "Then why can I?" It wasn't a question spoken out loud, but it entered his mind so forcefully and without warning that Navi heard it, too. She glanced at him. He could tell she had heard it. She thought, It's probably because you've lived in the forest all your life. You've been in the lost woods, seen what others can't.  
  
But this didn't make sense. Kokiri could go in the woods, and he and his brothers and sisters went in there all the time to pick berries. Why didn't they see things that he could? When he had seen Stalfos, he had pointed them out to Saria, and to everyone else. Only Saria seemed to see them. After a while, of course, he had stopped, because the teasing had gotten so much worse. He smiled lightly, remembering the times, rare as they were, when he had a good time going into the woods with the whole village.  
  
All of the sudden, he was struck with a great longing, a need, to be accepted. To go back to the forest and live there and just be normal, like all the other Kokiri kids. He had reached ten, he wasn't going to grow anymore now, just keep living. Would he have to live like this forever?  
  
His thoughts were interrupted by Dampé's brooding. "You know, I could probably tell you everything about every grave here." He was old, and maybe senile, so Link decided to listen for the time being, so he wouldn't upset the man. Besides, he had just Link's life, Link figured that he owed the gravekeeper a favor.  
  
Link remembered the graves that he saw just before falling into the hole. They had made him feel so strange. He pointed over to where the three graves lay next to each other, with no others surrounding them. "What about those?" he asked.  
  
While they were talking, Navi flew over to read the graves. She, like Link, looked at the grave of the woman first. Alanai. Link had seen these? Her heart started pounding. These were the ones he were looking at just before he had fallen. He had to have seen them.. She looked at the next one. Samuel. How much of this had Link seen? Please, she thought desperately, please don't let him have seen the last one. She looked at it, dreading what she might read.  
  
Link, infant child of Alanai and Samuel. Four months of age. Was cruelly  
murdered during the Wars; died at the hands of the Gerudo thieves.  
  
Navi closed her eyes briefly. She knew the truth, she knew he had not died at the hands of the Gerudo. And so did he. How could he know anything else, standing and breathing? But if he had seen his own grave..  
  
And suddenly, she knew why Johan had been acting so strange. It was just a wild guess, but he might have known Samuel and Alanai. He, like the rest of the world, would believe Link to be dead. And when Link showed up at his door needing a place to stay, acting for all the world like a boy who had died long ago.it would completely baffle him. She knew he must be wondering if he had lost his mind. But she couldn't tell anyone anything yet. It was too soon. All of this was happening too fast.  
  
But she was glad he fell in the tomb of the Composer Brothers. Better him fall in a stranger's grave than read his own.  
  
* * *  
  
Dampé was quiet a minute before answering Link's question. "Well," he said, "That's a pretty sad story, boy. You see, a long time ago, almost ten years ago, our land was under a time of war." Link's breath caught in his throat. Wars? Were these the same Wars nobody would tell him about?  
  
It appeared so.  
  
"Most people, they try to cover it up. Pretend it never happened. They're wrong. It did happen. It happened, and people died from it. Them three graves are of a family who died. A woman and her husband. And their little boy, only four months old." Link frowned slightly at this. That must have been what was on the last grave.  
  
"The man was the Head Knight in the King's army. He had to go out on trips a lot, and he knew the country real well, I'd guess, and he made maps for the group of soldiers he had trained, along with all of his other work. He was a good swordsman, had natural skill. I knew him, and he was a good man. The woman was skilled with the Ocarina, she played it almost as well as her husband. Quick with the bow and arrows, too. Almost never missed. She had a real big heart, she was always willing to listen to anyone if they needed to talk."  
  
"What happened to them was a terrible thing. They all died on the same day. No one knows why, but they was being chased by a band of Gerudo thieves. From what his friend told me, the man had asked the King to let him protect his family, and he would come back and fight the minute he could know they was safe. The King let him, because he knew how important it was to a man to protect those he loved most. His own wife had just gone into labor when the castle was attacked. That was the last his friend ever saw of him. The poor man was so upset. Them two had been the best of friends, you know, never saw one without the other. After the family died, that man took a job as a guard and gave up the one he had as a soldier. He didn't want to see any more fighting, and I can't say I can blame him much."  
  
"No one knows what happened, but they think the man died trying to protect his wife and baby. They found the poor woman shot in the leg with a poison arrow. The man had been stabbed. They never found the baby, but he was a little runt. The kid's grave is empty."  
  
Link stood there, not quite believing what he had just heard. A whole family of innocent people killed, because of some senseless destruction. He wondered what happened to the baby. He also wondered how someone could kill a baby in the first place, take it from it's mother's arms and just kill it. He could see no reason in the world important enough to kill anyone that had never done anything wrong.  
  
Navi flew over from where she had been to join Link. She wondered how much he'd learned. From the look on his face, it was hard to tell. Maybe he would tell her about it later. "We have to go," she said quietly. "Thanks for your help, we're really grateful."  
  
And signaling Link to follow her, she quietly headed out of the Graveyard.  
  
* * *  
  
Once again, Link and Navi were back on Death Mountain. Once again, they were at the entrance to Goron City. Navi had suggested going to try to calm Darunia down, so, once again, there they were. Link had wanted to go back to the Inn to talk to Johan and rest, but Navi had insisted. It was almost like she was trying to distract herself.  
  
Link had asked her about why she had acted the way she did in the graveyard, but she would give no answer. Maybe when she wasn't looking, he'd ask Johan when he got back to the Inn. He was getting really tired of not knowing things.  
  
Link sighed heavily as he walked inside of the city, but all that greeted him was the same loud noises of rolling rocks and the same deep pit as before. Link, wanting to see more of the city, took a different route than he had last time. The city was composed of five layers, each in the shape of an oval. The further down Link got, the smaller the oval. When he had almost reached the bottom, he stopped.  
  
He stopped so suddenly that Navi ran into the back of his head as she was flying. Link didn't even feel it. "Hey!" she complained. "Try warning me next time you want to put on the brakes like that." Link just swatted at her. "Shutup!" he hissed. Now Navi could tell something was up. "Link? Link, what's wrong?" All she got was a loud, "Shhhhh!" Navi stopped talking and listened, even though she didn't know what she was listening for. She strained her ears, but she couldn't hear anything out of the ordinary. Just the rolling of the Gorons traveling around the city. She didn't know what Link was hearing, because she couldn't hear it at all.  
  
At least, not at first.  
  
As Link walked slowly and quietly toward one of the many caverns in the wall, she followed him, and distant strains of music reached her ears. At first, she wasn't sure she heard it. But, as they got closer, it became a little clearer. She recognized the notes to be coming from an Ocarina. But, as far as she knew, only Hylians and one or two Kokiri played the Ocarina. It couldn't be coming from any Goron..  
  
Link's heart began to beat a little faster as he turned to Navi and whispered, "Am I hearing things? Or.do you think that's really what I think it is?" He turned back to the cavern. Being as quiet as he could, he walked inside. The notes were very plain now. He could hear the tune. It was coming from an Ocarina, but it was probably echoing from a long distance. But it was definitely an Ocarina. "Link," said Navi, "Why are so excited about hearing an Ocarina?" But, she was starting to think she knew.  
  
Navi had been watching Link his whole life, for ten years. She had grown to know him, even though they had only recently been introduced. She had felt happy and smug when the rare occasion came by that he had gotten to play with the other kids, or had gotten the best of Mido, and sad and angry when he got picked on or made fun of. She had been through his life and seen it just as he had. Sometimes she had failed to keep track of him in the Lost Woods or when he was moving around a lot, but she knew what he did, and she had heard that song before. She knew she had.  
  
Link must have heard it before, too. And most of his life had been spent in a tiny forest far off to the east of the main part of Hyrule, that hadn't had any contact with the outside world in ten years. If Link had heard that song before, and remembered where he had heard it, then it must have had something to do with the forest.  
  
And as she pictured the Kokiri Forest and the Lost Woods clearly in her mind, as she saw the trees, the birds singing, the darkness of the woods because of the leaves blocking the sun, the air that was so full of life and magic it seemed to radiate its own glow, she also began to remember where that song was from. It was only a thought, but it formed clearly in her mind, started taking shape. Whoever was playing that Ocarina was playing it well, and the only two people who had ever lived in the forest that could play an Ocarina well were Link and Saria. Saria must have been playing the Ocarina.  
  
And then Navi knew where she heard the song. This was Saria's song that she played whenever she and Link were in the Sacred Forest Meadow, which they called "their" place. That must be Saria playing the Ocarina. Link knew it, too. She knew how badly Link had to miss Saria, and the forest in general. But after he was almost used to getting along without it, should he really go back?  
  
She wasn't sure, but when Link started into the darkness of the cavern, she didn't have the heart to stop him.  
  
* * *  
  
Saria was still getting used to her world without Link. He had been one of her best friends. It was almost as if he had died, but worse. Mido had wanted to burn his house and all his possessions, but Saria, already angry enough at him, had stood in the doorway of his house and refused to move. Mido hadn't tried to touch any of Link's stuff since then.  
  
But she missed him a lot.  
  
Saria sat on hr tree stump in their place, fingering her own Ocarina, that matched his exactly. Why had the Deku Tree really died? Saria knew Link didn't kill him. Link was the only one who would have been able to explain things to her, but he was gone. She wondered if he had found a place to stay at. She wondered if he was warm and dry out of the rain that had fallen yesterday. She wondered if he missed her as much as she missed him, wondered if he still had his Ocarina, wondered if he had forgotten about them all, or if he kept them in a safe place in his heart. She wondered if Link was as angry and as hurt as she was.  
  
She wondered if he was still alive..  
  
No. She wouldn't think that. Even if she never saw him again, she would not give up on her hope that Link was alive and well. No matter what, she would always have hope, because if she didn't, she'd have nothing at all. She had to keep hoping.  
  
Saria stared up at the stone building above her. She remembered the happy times when she and Link would come here to play games to see who could get to the top of the tree hanging over its entrance. Neither of them had ever gotten to the top to see what was in there, but it didn't matter. They had just wanted to have fun. Saria also remembered the sadder times, when Link had come here to be alone in his fury or depression. She vividly remembered the time when he had hidden in the Woods because the other children, led by Mido, had thrown rock s at him, chasing him out of the forest. She had gone after him, but it took her three days to find him crying in the Meadow, and two more until he would go back.  
  
Sighing heavily, she got up and paced around the area. She looked to the entrance, as if in hope it had all been a dream, and Link would come up the stairway grinning at some joke or ready for a game.  
  
But Saria saw nothing, saw no boy in green clothes running up to greet her, and so she sat back down on the tree stump and began to play her Ocarina, struggling not to cry.  
  
* * *  
  
Link had been walking for quite a while. His feet were a little sore, and his legs were tired, but Saria must be out there somewhere. He had to find her. If she was there. Maybe he would never have a chance for a normal life again, but he had to see her. She had been his only friend all his life, fairy or not, good times or bad. The notes of the song drew closer and closer with each step. Finally, he thought he could see light. He ran toward it, wanting to know if it was the forest.  
  
It was.  
  
The forest was in all of its beauty. The trees were tall and thick with leaves, blocking out the sun. The air glowed. The light breeze ruffled the leaves and washed gently over his face. He had never been happier. He was home.  
  
But he knew he couldn't stay. If Mido found him, he would be killed. He had to stay in the Lost Woods. But that didn't matter, because he wouldn't need to go in the village to find Saria. He turned to Navi. "Do you know where we are? It's been awhile since I've been here, I think I forgot."  
  
"Oh, but I didn't."  
  
It was exactly like the meeting with the Composer Brothers. Link yelped and turned around. "I wish people would stop doing that to me!"  
  
But there was no one standing behind him. "Huh?" The woods were still and quiet. Even the music had stopped..  
  
"I said, I didn't forget where we are. Or, rather, where you are." Link circled around to look behind him and in front of him. Slowly, he tuned his head left to right. "Got that right," he muttered. "Where I am." He raised his voice. "Where are you?"  
  
This time the voice seemed to whisper directly in his ear. "Is it that hard to figure out, boy?" Link yelped again. He turned in time to see a very large owl disappear into the shadows of the trees. "Ok," Link said, "I saw you. Now quit playing games. What do you want?"  
  
There was rustling around him, but no one answered. "C'mon, this isn't funny. What do you want?" Link growled. The owl flew up on a branch high above his head. Link gaped at the size of it. He could have easily ridden on this owl. It was huge.  
  
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Kaepora Gaebora."  
  
Link continued to stare. Navi yanked on his ears. "Oh," he said, "I'm Link." The owl nodded. "Yes, I know. Link, I have come here to urge you to go back to the Goron Village to retrieve the Goron's Ruby. Night is coming, and soon these forests will be plunged into darkness."  
  
"Listen," Link told him, "I'm not getting anywhere with him, he hasn't done anything but yell at me." Navi nodded. Even though she felt the same way as this owl, she had to admit that the Ruby seemed way out of their reach. "And as for the forest being dark," Link said, more confident now, "I've been in this forest when it was dark, raining, and all kind of weather. And that was without a fairy to help me light the way. Trust me, I can handle it." The owl cocked his head. "But can you? Or did my ears deceive me when I heard you ask Navi where you were, saying you had forgotten?" Link narrowed his eyes. "How do you know who we are, anyway?"  
  
"I am what most people would call a 'prophet,' meaning I see some things that will happen about six months or so before hand." He paused. "Please, Link, go back to Goron City." Link shook his head. "No. I came this far, I'm going to find Saria." The owl sighed. "I can see you won't change your mind. Very well, then, go, if you must. But I implore you to hurry."  
  
And the owl took off, the tree branches brushing behind him.  
  
Link shook his head. "Weird." Navi fluttered down on his shoulder. "You know, I think y-I mean, we, missed a minor detail." Link looked at her. "Yeah?"  
  
"Well, that was a talking owl, for one thing."  
  
"Yeah, it was, wasn't it?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"What are you thinking about? I can tell you're thinking, I smell the smoke all the way from over here."  
  
"Oh, shut up. For your information, I was thinking about Hylian prophets."  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Yeah. Hylian prophets are usually gifted with the ability to become animals."  
  
"So.you think that owl was a Hylian?"  
  
"Maybe. It was a talking owl, after all."  
  
Link cracked up. "C'mon, let's go find Saria." Navi sighed and followed him forward. The music started again. Link followed the sounds to wherever they led him. After a while, he began to recognized where they were, and he took the route he knew, instead of following the echoing notes all across the forest. Once or twice, when he got too near the Kokiri Village, he thought he heard people nearby, but he stayed out of sight.  
  
He weaved his way in and out of trees, around sharp turns, under fallen limbs and over thick green underbrush. It was extremely difficult for Navi to keep up with him. She was surprised, even though she knew she shouldn't have been. Link knew this forest like he did the back of his hand.  
  
When he finally got to the Sacred Forest Meadow, he found the way to the hedge maze blocked with bars. That wasn't right. It had never been blocked before. What if Saria was in there and she couldn't get out? When Link turned around to look behind him for another way out, he froze. He had just come face to face with an angry, snarling, Wolfos.  
  
* * *  
  
Saria stopped playing her music. She stared off into space. Ellen, her fairy, had flown off a while ago, looking for something to eat. So she was alone.  
  
Saria wondered what was making her feel so uneasy. She sensed danger. Something not good. She had always been in tune with the forest, and when all wasn't peaceful like it should be, it was like she could. communicate with the forest itself. It was hard for even her to believe, but she always trusted her instincts. And right now they told her something was very, very wrong.  
  
Saria closed her eyes, trying to envision herself walking away from where she was. What she saw was shocking. The hedge maze had been taken over by Deku Scrubs. There were bars at the entrance. She knew this, but she couldn't get there. Her strength was fading too quickly. But she sensed something that picked up her pulse and made her go on. She practically ran to the bars. In this form, she wasn't solid, but for some reason she still couldn't go past the bars. But when she got as far as she could go, what she saw made her stop short. She couldn't believe her eyes.  
  
There was an angry Wolfos roaming around the entrance, attacking someone in green. The person was a boy. He was a Kokiri, he had a fairy. And he had a sword and shield. She didn't wonder what a Wolfos was doing in the forest. She forgot about the Deku Scrubs. She only focused on the thing in front of her.  
  
Link.  
  
She gasped as the Wolfos lunged at him, but he held up the shield to block the attack. The impact made him fall on the ground and the Wolfos rolled off. Link got to his feet the same time it did, and jumped to the side, dodging another attack. He was outmatched. It was all he could to keep himself alive, he couldn't get an attack in. Saria wished she could help him. Link ducked as the Wolfos jumped over him. He turned around and threw a Deku Nut at the creature. At least, that's what Saria thought it was, nothing else could make such a flash.  
  
But as the flash went off, she opened her eyes, and found herself back in the Meadow. Unsure what to do, she played her Ocarina again, hoping with all her heart Link would hear it, and it would somehow give him hope.  
  
* * *  
  
Link froze when the flash went off. That was a stupid move. It had momentarily left him without vision. To his surprise, it had blinded the Wolfos completely. He defeated it easily with a few swings of his sword, and the bars dropped. The music had started again, now more loud and forcefully than ever.  
  
The hedge maze was filled with Deku Scrubs. Although it took a very long time for him to navigate his way through the maze with the Scrubs pelting Deku Nuts at him, the music kept going. At last, he reached the crumbling stone stairway that led to Saria. The music stopped. He ran to the top of the stairs.  
  
"Link!"  
  
He had missed her so much. They ran into each other's arms, embracing for a long time. Navi tactfully hovered in the background. When they broke apart, Link saw that Saria was crying. "Don't do that," he said, pretending to be exasperated. She laughed through her tears. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"How long has it been?" he asked. "I lost track of time." This was true. He had been in the grave, altering time, but he had not known how many days it had been for the real world. For all he knew, it could have been weeks, maybe even months.  
  
"About two weeks," Saria whispered. "I'm so happy to see you. What are you doing here?"  
  
She and Link sat on the tree stump, and Link told her the whole story, everything that had happened from the time he left her on the bridge until the moment they saw each other. ".so then I ran up the stairs, ad there you were." She smiled. Then it turned to a frown. "But you can't stay." Her voice was deflated, full of hopelessness and defeat. "No," Link told her gently, "I can't stay. I can visit, though. I can be here for a little while." It felt so awful, knowing he was banned from a world he used to know, used to be part of, no matter how much he was hated or ignored. Even if he were given "permission" to return, given the right to access the place he trusted and knew by the very one who had barred him from it in the first place, even, things would never be the same again. He felt as if he lost connection with the world, and he was living in sort of a daydream, where nothing was fake, but nothing was real. He couldn't ever go back, couldn't ever forgive Mido for ruining his life, but how could he stay away, now that he knew how to get here? Now that he knew a way to get around the restrictions others had put on him, how could he not go back home? There was no comfort in knowing he could never be the person he once was again.  
  
Link sighed. He was ok now, though, he was with Saria, his best friend in the whole world, and that was more comfort to him than anything else could ever be. "Hey," he said, "What's that song you were playing? Can you teach me?" She smiled. "Of course." She got out her Ocarina, and Link noticed it looked exactly like his. She showed him where to put his fingers and when to move them. After awhile, Link had it down pat.  
  
They spent the rest of the day playing together, just like old times. When night finally did come, as the owl predicated, the forest was covered in darkness. It reminded Link that he had to leave eventually. "Saria," he said, "I.have to go now. There are things I need to do. You saw all those monsters, you know what's happening around here. The owl's right, so is everyone else, even Zelda, the world is being taken over. I have to do what I can to stop it." She nodded. "I'll miss you," she said simply. They hugged for a long time. Then Link walked backwards out of the meadow, and his last veiw of Saria was no longer a face full of tears, but one of happiness. 


	7. Chapter Eleven: Truth Be Told

Chapter Eleven: Truth Be Told  
  
Never had Link been so tired. Navi, who insisted that it had only been one day instead of maybe almost two weeks as Saria had said, wanted to go back to Goron City. Link had passed through it but refused to stop. He was tired. He could hardly stand up. Maybe Navi, being a fairy, had huge amounts of energy, but he didn't. He almost fell down the mountain instead of hiking down it.  
  
When Link got to the bottom of the mountain, he noticed it was almost dark. Navi told him they were very close to a ranch that offered room and board, and that he shouldn't be out at night because of the Stalchildren.  
  
"What are Stalchildren?"  
  
"Trust me, if we don't get going, you'll find out."  
  
Link walked to the ranch and had just gotten in the gates when night came. "Hello?"  
  
Link heard a shriek and a gasp from nearby, and a red-haired girl came around the corner of a ramshackle barn and looked him over. "You surprised me," she said. Then her eyes widened. "I remember you! You're the fairy boy from the castle. You found my dad. I'm Malon, remember?" She looked him over again. "What happened to you? You look terrible." Link didn't even get the chance to explain before she was helping him into the house nearby, and calling, "Dad! Dad!"  
  
The man who had saved him from drowning appeared in the doorway, his frame as large as ever. When he saw Link, Talon picked him up, tossed him over his shoulder, and set him back down in a bed upstairs. When an exhausted Link asked what was going on, Talon replied, "Hospitality," as Malon brought him something to eat. Link took it gratefully, and asked how much he owed them. "Nothing, nothing at all," Malon said.  
  
When Link finished eating, Malon offered to let him look around the ranch. She seemed particularly fond of one horse, who she called Epona. The horse wouldn't get near anyone but her or her father, and kept running away from Link.  
  
Malon sighed. "She's too shy," she explained to Link. It was night now, but she tried one more time to coax the horse into playing with Link. She started singing softly. "Too bad you don't sing," Malon said, giggling, "Or you'd get her over to you in a second." Navi yanked at Link's hair from under his hat, and telepathically reminded him that he had an Ocarina to make music with. Link pulled it out of his pocket. Malon saw it immediately, and said, "Hey, you can play the song on that thing. I'll teach it to you, listen." Malon started singing, a beautiful song that made Epona stop running and listen, until she saw Link. Then she was off again.  
  
Link was ignoring the horse, however, and concentrating on the music.  
  
After a minute, he picked up on it, and began to play it softly. Epona stopped running. The she trotted slowly toward him while he put the ocarina away and stretched out his hand to pet her. "Good, uh, horse. Good girl," Link said a little nervously.  
  
Malon laughed. "She likes you," she explained at the puzzled look on Link's face. Navi just stared at Link. The her gaze traveled to Malon. She looked at them back and forth, staring at each other, not moving. Whoa, she thought, sparks if I ever saw them. She laughed quietly to herself, knowing how much teasing she'd get out of Link later. Epona snorted, interrupting their little moment.  
  
Malon cleared her throat awkwardly. "Listen, do you want to stay the night? It's dark now, and there's probably things outside." Link shook his head, knowing Johan was probably very worried. He was also getting tired of his light breathing; he loved the horses, but they smelled terrible. Malon looked disappointed, but let it go. "My dad'll want you to stay, so you'd better hurry." she said. "If you really do have to go, take this with you." She handed him a bottle of Lon Lon Milk. Link took it and carefully put it away. "Thanks," he told her. Navi flew under Link's hat, talking to him telepathically.  
  
We'd better stay. There are Stalchildren out there! Trust me, you do not want to meet up with a Stalchild. Link just shrugged and told Malon goodbye, the headed out toward Hyrule Field.  
  
"Listen," Navi growled at him when they were outside, "I know you think they're worried back at the Inn and all, but you won't get to the Inn if you go at night. I know they leave the drawbridge open at night once every week, and I hope you're lucky, because there are Stalchildren out here."  
  
"Navi, what are Stalchildren anyw-"  
  
Something burst up from the ground behind Link before he could finish his sentence. Link whirled around as quickly as he could, but everything seemed to be going in slow motion. He drew his sword and prepared to fight, whispering to Navi, "Please don't tell me that thing is a Stalchild."  
  
"Fine, I won't. But I tried to warn you, Link.."  
  
The thing was clearly a skeleton of a demon come back to life. When Link took a swing at it with his sword, the body parts that fell off kept moving on their own. Link soon discovered that when one came, more accompanied it. He swung his sword what felt like thousands of times before he was able to break into a run for the drawbridge, which was, thankfully, open.  
  
When Link finally got back to the Market, he went straight inside the Inn without knocking. Luckily, the crate had been moved already, so he didn't waste energy pulling it. When he got down the stairs, he collapsed onto the big fluffy armchair near the fireplace. No one was there. His eyes started to close. He was really tired. Then he heard footsteps.  
  
Link opened his eyes. "Huh?" The girl from the last time he was there, Kylia, was standing in front of him. "Who're you?" he asked drowsily.  
  
"Kylia, remember?" She looked at him closely. "What happened to you? We all thought you had died." Link looked up at her, alarmed. "How long was I gone?" But she had left. Link looked around. Then he heard more footsteps. She was back, holding a glass of water. Link took it and drank it gratefully. The times he had been practicing the song in the grave must have made too many days pass, and now they were finally catching up with him. He hadn't realized how thirsty he was. "Thanks," he told her.  
  
"No problem," she said. "Most people think Gerudo are cruel and vicious, but we're not all like that." Link finished his water. "Gerudo? You mean the people who live in the desert? And their king is-" She nodded, cutting him off. "Yes. Most of them are proud to have him as a king. But a few like me were not. We were considered 'soft' and thrown out. Some of the Gerudo don't know his plans, so they have no idea, or they'd be gone too."  
  
"Ganon threw them out?" Link asked. Kylia nodded again. Then her eyes widened. "H-how do you know his true name? What it means?" Link was too tired to tell this story again, and he knew if he told it now he'd have to tell it again later to Johan. Speaking of Johan..  
  
"Wait, did you say everyone thought I was dead?"  
  
"Yes. It upset Johan pretty badly, ya know. He's been acting funny ever since you left.."  
  
"Where is he now? Can you go and get him? Now that I sat down, I'm not sure I can get up again." Kylia called out, "Johan! Link is back! He's alive after all!"  
  
"Well, that's one way to do it." Navi flew out from under Link's hat. She didn't like being stared at, but even worse was not being able to join in the conversation. Besides that, she wanted to hear his version of what happened after he got out of the grave. She wanted to know what he did.  
  
Link heard someone walking down the hall quickly. He couldn't see who it was because his back was to the hall with all the rooms in it. "Link!" Johan came into view.  
  
"You're okay." He sounded amazed.  
  
"Yeah, you could put it that way,"  
  
"So, tell us what happened."  
  
Link drew in a deep breath. "Well, I went up to Death Mountain, with this shield, of course, even though it was way too heavy to be real-" Johan laughed. Link ignored him and kept going. "Well, I went up there, and I asked around, and it turns out Ganon's been there, too. He blocked up the passageway to all their rocks that they eat." He looked around. "What? I'm serious, they eat rocks!" By this time both Johan and Kylia were sitting on the couch across from him, and they were very attentive. "I went and asked Darunia, he's their leader, for the Spiritual Stone of Fire, but he started yelling and going into a frenzy and stuff. So me and Navi left and went back down to Kakariko. I was looking around and stuff, cause I haven't seen it before. Anyway, we were in the graveyard, and I was looking at the different graves and stuff." Link recalled the other graves that Dampé had told him about, but he decided to save that for later.  
  
"When it got almost dark we were gonna give up and come back here." Navi spoke up. "But we didn't. Link fell into one of the graves in the front."  
  
"But how," Johan asked, "can a person fall in a grave?"  
  
"Well the ground was real wet, and I just sorta sank in. Anyway, when I got down there, I wanted to explore it, cause I've lived in the woods all my life, exploring is just what I do. So I went in and these big tall muddy things-"  
  
"ReDeads," Navi interrupted.  
  
"Yeah, them. They.started grabbing at me." His voice shook a little. ".and I got out my sword and ran past them to the next room. There was this writing on the wall, and a song. I'd play the song for you but it makes the days pass like that." Link snapped his fingers. "That's why I was down there so long. I was practicing it. Every time I got it right, another day would go by, even though I didn't know it. After a while, Navi told me that the ReDeads were frozen. They couldn't move in the daytime. So I went past them again, and this time I didn't fight them off. I didn't have to." Link leaned back against the chair, a little tired of talking.  
  
"We didn't figure out what the song did until we got back to the other room and saw the light from outside," Navi told them. "Then these ghosts came up behind us and scared us half to death." Link let out a weak laugh. "Yeah, that took about five years offa my life." Navi shook her head. "Anyway," she continued, "They turned out to be the Composer Brothers. Everyone thinks they died in some freak accident at Lon Lon Ranch or something, because Ganon had their bodies trampled by horses. They had refused to tech him the song, or tell him about the magic. So he killed them."  
  
Kylia nodded. "He is a heartless monster." Her eyes were dark. Maybe she's been through more than she wants to explain, Link thought, and continued the story. "The ghosts, y'know, Sharp and Flat, stood guard above the grave while I played the song. Dampé, he's the gravekeeper over there-"  
  
"Yes, he and I used to be good friends, I know him," Johan interrupted. Link nodded. "Anyway, he saw the ghosts, too, and let down a rope and pulled us out just as those-things-were about to break down the door." Navi noticed that Link was a little pale at this point. "Then we got up on the ground again. Trust me, I was really glad. I thought I'd be in that grave forever."  
  
Forever is a long time, thought Navi. She listened intently. He was about to get to the part she wanted to hear. But she was disappointed. He didn't say a thing about it.  
  
"So I talked to Dampé a while. He was really surprised I could see ghosts. I dunno why."  
  
Johan told him, "Only a few people can see ghosts, you know. Obviously, Poetrader can, and I can too, actually." Navi fluttered down on Link's shoulder. "His name isn't really PoeTrader, is it?" Johan shook his head. "He won't tell us his real name, but he pays the rent, so we don't bother him about it. We just call him Poetrader because he buys and sells them for money."  
  
Navi flew back up in the air. For some reason, she couldn't sit still and talk at the same time. "When we went back to Goron City, Link found a passageway that led to the forest. We went, and we spent all day with Saria. There are things taking over in the Lost Woods. It's getting dangerous."  
  
Link continued the story. "Then I headed back here, but it was almost dark, and I was really tired. We almost stayed the night at Lon Lon Ranch, and I met a girl and a horse, and they gave me some food. They wanted me to stay, but I getting tired of the smell, and I thought you guys might be worried about me. And hey, I was right, wasn't I? On the way back, though, I met up with some Stalchildren. Trust me, that wasn't any fun."  
  
Link leaned back in the armchair, ignoring Navi's lecturing. "The extra days are finally starting to catch up with me, I think." Navi finally finished talking and flew over to the entrance of the hall that led to the rooms. Link heard her say from behind him, "Kylia, Link's really tired, could you pull down his blankets and stuff?" Kylia nodded. "Sure, I don't mind," she said. "Hey," Link said, turning crimson, "I'm not a baby, you guys don't need to do that." His words fell on deaf ears; they were already gone. Johan got up to go and help since Navi was pretty small and couldn't do anything, but Link said, "Wait."  
  
Johan turned around. "I have to talk to you while they're gone. I was wondering if you knew anything about these graves I saw, they really freaked me out, I dunno why.."  
  
As quietly as he could, Link told Johan about the graves of Alanai and Samuel. As he was finishing, Johan pulled Link to his feet, a difficult task, and they started walking toward his room. When they got to the door, Navi flew out. She had heard the last part of the conversation, and was wondering what Johan would say. "Well, I think there's something you have to understand about that, Link-" Johan started, but before he could say anything more, a voice spoke up from behind them. It was Poetrader. "You dropped your Ocarina, boy. Here." The man held it out to him, and Link took it. "Thanks," he said. "One of my best friends made that for me, I'd hate to lose it." The man nodded and went in a door to his left, which was obviously his room. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Johan, okay? I'm really tired." Johan nodded quietly. Link attempted a smile, and went in his room.  
  
Navi didn't. She went back to the front room with Johan, who seemed to be lost in thought. "Aren't you tired?" he asked her. She shook her head. "No." He was surprised she still had the strength to fly. "Fairies have a lot of access energy, you know." Johan sat down in the big armchair Link had occupied just a moment ago, and Navi sat on the arm of the couch. There was a silence, but it wasn't an awkward one. Each of them were brooding about recent events.  
  
After a long time, when Kylia had gone into her room for the night and they were the only ones left awake, Navi spoke up. "You knew them, didn't you?" He didn't have to ask who she was talking about. Johan nodded. "What did Link tell you?"  
  
"What I already knew." Johan said. "How they died." Then he added carefully, "All.three.of them." Navi nodded. Abruptly, Johan stood up and paced to the other end of the room. His back facing her, he said, "I don't know how much of this you know.ten years ago, my best friend Sam was found stabbed to death, and his wife had been shot with a poison arrow. They never found their baby son. His name was Link. That was outside the forest in the east. Link is ten years old, has been living in the forest for all his life. Do you know that song he plays, he says he can't remember where it's from? Alanai used to play it to her little boy. Sam was great with a sword, so is Link. My two best friends could both play the Ocarina really well, and Link is a natural. I know that for a fact." He spun around. "You want to tell me what you know?"  
  
Navi remained calm. "I know a lot. But that's the point. I'm supposed to know, not anyone else." Johan glared at her. "Look, don't play games. It's obvious. I just want to know one thing. I want to know how he survived."  
  
Navi sighed. "I can't tell you that. I just can't. He has to tell you that. After someone tells him. He doesn't know yet. Please, don't tell him. It.went pretty badly, and he's only ten years old. He's just too young."  
  
His voice softened, knowing she was right. "You can't hide the truth forever."  
  
"I'm not trying to.."  
  
"But.how could he not know, having read the graves?"  
  
"He didn't see the last one. A miracle."  
  
Johan sighed. "I'm going to bed. Good night."  
  
"I think I'll have some sleep too."  
  
"What about that access energy?"  
  
"Oh, shut up."  
  
* * *  
  
Johan lay awake in bed for a long time that night, thinking.  
  
The son of Sam and Alanai was alive. Not only that, he was staying right here in the Inn. It was almost as if Johan had known it from the start, the minute Link had told him his name, and yet, at the same time, he still didn't believe it. How could he? Link, Sam's son, that Link was, well, dead. He died ten years ago as an infant. Navi had never confirmed the fact that Link really was Sam's son, but..  
  
Navi. She knew. The whole story. But she wouldn't tell him. Well, he couldn't blame her, she should tell Link first. But he meant what he said, she couldn't hide the truth forever. When Link kept growing like a Hylian instead of a Kokiri, he was bound to ask questions. If he kept growing. After all, this could just be a coincidence.  
  
Johan turned over in his state of half sleep. This wasn't a coincidence. No way. Link had blond hair, just like Alanai, with the touch of reddish brown in it and the bright blue eyes of Sam. He was good with a sword, Sam had been one of the best. And his skill with the Ocarina was incredible. Not to mention the tiny physical traits, and the small, nearly unnoticeable habits he had that made him act just like his..  
  
His parents?  
  
It had been such a long time. Ten years ago, his two best friends had been murdered. He thought their son had been, too. Johan had always wanted to know what happened to the little boy. And why they had been killed the way they had, instead of.beheaded, like all the others. He shut his eyes tightly to drive out the images that were still vividly there, even after all this time, of the bodies after that final battle. The Gerudo thieves that day hadn't bothered with slow deaths, they had just killed, not caring if it was man, woman, or child. Gerudo and Hylian alike had both lost too many of their people, which is why they had made peace.  
  
When they hadn't found Link, Johan had a short lived hope that he might still be alive. Then he realized foolish, wishful thinking wasn't going to get him anywhere. But had it been so foolish?  
  
He sat up in bed, fully awake now. How did Link live? He was an infant, a small child, something had to save him, right? Had Sam and Alanai really managed to protect their son? Had they done what they had wanted to do, the only thing they wanted to do, before they died? He remembered the last time he had seen Sam. His face was white and full of fear. He had begged the King to let him protect his family. The King, being friends with Sam, had agreed. Sam had run off to catch up with Alanai, who was holding Link. They had been heading for Lake Hylia, they were going to try and get to the Zora's Domain from there.  
  
They never got there. He knew that. But the real question was, why?  
  
* * *  
  
Link stretched and yawned. He looked over to see Navi sleeping peacefully on his night stand, next to the small oil lamp. She was using his hat as something soft to sleep on, and as a blanket. He smirked, remembering how she had wanted to stay at Death Mountain. Looked like she was tired as him, after all. "Hey," he whispered. "Wake up." He grinned. She was still asleep. She must have gone to bed at a late hour last night. "Navi." She stirred. "What?" she mumbled.  
  
"You have to wake up, Johan's cooking breakfast downstairs."  
  
"I don't have to do anything, Link. I'm tired."  
  
"Yeah, me too.." For a moment, she was hopeful he would go back to sleep. But he hopped out of bed. "But you never stopped when I was tired. C'mon, let's go!"  
  
Navi groaned. She was never waking him up early again. She gasped in surprise as he grabbed his hat. "Hurry up," he called from outside his door, "or I'm eating your breakfast!" This wasn't much of a threat, since the most she could possibly eat was a very small piece of pancake and a few sips of juice, but she flew after him anyway. "Come back here, you're being a pig!"  
  
Link's mood seemed to have improved greatly since his visit to the forest and a good night's sleep. She should have known all he needed was some food. She smirked to herself.  
  
When they got to the front room, Johan had already set out plates for everyone. Link took his and sat down on the couch, leaving the armchair for someone else. "Morning," Johan said. "Did Navi wake you up again?"  
  
Link smirked. "It was the other way around this time." Johan laughed, and Navi scowled. "So I stayed up a little late, big deal. We have to Goron City again, this time without getting side tracked." She rolled her eyes, even though she knew they couldn't see it through the light surrounding her body. Link started eating his pancakes. "Link," Navi said, "Slow down, it's not going to run away from you." Johan started laughing. He thought with a smile, Just like Sam. Somehow, knowing the truth made it easier to bear. Knowing the truth, even if Link didn't, knowing who Link was, made the pain of losing Sam that had always been there lessen slightly.  
  
Link bolted down the rest of his food, then picked up his stuff and walked toward the door. Just as he got to the door at the top of the stairs, he called out, "Hey, I'm coming back this time, okay?"  
  
Yes, Johan thought. This time, you're coming back.  
  
* * *  
  
Kylia walked into the front room. She hadn't got much sleep last night, so she was late for breakfast. Looking around, she saw no one was there. She wondered where Johan had gone. Kylia found him in the kitchen, staring off into space. "Hellooo?" she said softly. "Johan?" He turned around to look at her. "Oh, hi. What're you up to?"  
  
"I was about to ask you the same question." She paused. "Johan.is something wrong? You've been acting really weird lately.." Johan shook his head. But she knew he wasn't being completely honest. She'd known Johan for a long time, and knew when he was and wasn't telling the truth.  
  
Kylia had first come to the Inn when she was four, and had gotten separated from the Gerudo thieves she'd been with on some mission. She couldn't remember what it was, or why they had taken a four year old, but somehow, she had ended up at the Inn. Not caring that she was Gerudo, Johan let her stay with him. She had ended up staying until she was seven or eight, because the Wars had forced her to hide herself, just because she was Gerudo. The Hylians had ruthlessly been ordered to kill any of them on sight. They had obviously thought the only way to win was be as heartless as their opponent.  
  
But Johan had been a soldier back then, and made sure she stayed alive. Eventually, she had gone back, after peace had been made. Johan had quit as a soldier. Too much fighting had caused him to want a more peaceful job, not to mention the deaths of many of his friends, Samuel and his family in particular. They had been Johan's best friends.  
  
She'd received valuable training at the Gerudo Fortress, even though she tried not to use it for anything other than self defense. It had sharpened all five senses to their fullest, made every nerve in her body alert, made her trust her instincts, and given her incredible fighting abilities, and other physical strengths. Then, just recently, almost a year ago, she had been kicked out, for disagreeing with the one who ruled her world. Ganon. She and Johan knew each other very well by now, he was a mix between a father, a good friend, and an older brother to her. She knew when something was wrong, when something was bothering him. He had never liked to talk about his problems, just face them quietly in his own way, by himself. But she could always tell when he wasn't acting normally. And he wasn't acting normally right now. Not at all.  
  
"Johan, I know there's something wrong.." Kylia said. But he only shook his head again. "There's nothing wrong, Kylia, I.I'm just thinking, that's all." He tried to make his voice sound light, and natural, and easy, but instead it came out thick, and soft, as if he were holding back on something, and Kylia saw right through him.  
  
"About what?" she asked gently. Johan sighed and walked into the front room. She followed him. "Just the past. Things that happened too long ago to be remembered. Things I need to forget, probably." He walked back and sat down on the couch. Kylia sat down next to him, waiting for him to say more. She wanted to help him with whatever was bothering him, but she didn't want to push either.  
  
After awhile, he asked her, "Do you remember my friend Sam?" Kylia nodded. "I know who he was, but I can't remember what he looked like, or much else about him.. It was a long time ago, and I was really little." Johan got up and walked over to the trunk next to the fireplace, and unlocked it. "Come here," he said, "I think I have a pictograph of him."  
  
Kylia knelt next to Johan, peering at the contents of the trunk. She wasn't prying; she'd seen this trunk and a lot of what was in it several times before. Johan gently took out a worn pictograph from the trunk. It was a color one, but through the age, it was hard to tell. On the left side of the picture, a man with messy brown hair that had just a touch of red in it smiled up at her, his arm around the woman next to him, his bright blue eyes full of happiness. The woman was smiling too, her shoulder length blond curls falling causally to her shoulders. She had blue eyes too, but they were a deep sea blue, almost purple. She was holding a little baby, a boy who was no bigger than a tiny cucco. He had a tuft of blond hair with a shade of red added to it, and bright blue eyes.  
  
They looked so happy together, the little family. Johan pointed to the man. "That's Sam, remember? There's his wife, Alanai." he indicated the woman. "And their little boy.." He stopped, and put the picture away. "Link," he said softly. Kylia wasn't sure she heard him right. "Hmm?"  
  
"Link is their little boy. Link was his name, remember? Now the same Link is here. I know it.I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. I found out last night. Navi told me. Kylia.he's alive." Kylia didn't think it was crazy. She believed him, and told him so. "But.how? I thought he died. I mean, at four months old, how could he have defended himself?" Johan shook his head. "I don't know, I really don't." She could see the pain in his eyes, as well as the confusion.  
  
"Is there something special about him? There must be, if Link really did make it, and survived in an uncharted forest for ten years." Silently, Johan closed and locked the trunk. "There must be a reason," Kylia continued. "There has to be, why else would someone go after them, and kill them?" Johan looked at her blankly. "What did you say?"  
  
"Go after them. I said, why else would someone go after them?" His eyes widened. "What?" she asked. "Did I say something wrong?" Johan shook his head. "Go after them.." He repeated slowly. "Do think that's what is was, Kylia? Someone going after them?"  
  
"Well, I know that it was Gerudo that were attacking, and they usually don't use slow means of death, like poison, unless they want something.."  
  
"So then there does have to be something special about Link, doesn't there?"  
  
"Probably."  
  
Johan looked at the ceiling. "When they died, my.my whole world fell apart. They were my best friends, I didn't know if I could live without them. And I always wondered why.." His voice trailed off, lost in the past. Kylia put a comforting hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently.  
  
"Now I guess we know." 


	8. Chapter Twelve: The Goron's Ruby

Chapter Twelve: The Goron's Ruby  
  
"I told you before, and I'll tell you again, a thousand times if I have to. No!"  
  
"Please, isn't there any way you can let me have it? I told you the whole story, there isn't another way. I'll do whatever you want me to do to earn it."  
  
Darunia sighed, pacing back and forth. "If it was happier times, I'd let you have it, free and clear, I'd have trust enough to give it to you. But, for all I know, you could be him in disguise."  
  
"His name is Ganondorf." Link figured it was best if he didn't spread the word about Ganon's true name. It would ruin any chance they had of the element of surprise.  
  
"I'm sorry, but I cannot let you have it, I just can't!"  
  
Link sighed. "Fine. I'll do it the hard way if I have to." The Goron stared at him, wondering if the boy was going to try and get it by force.  
  
But Link didn't use force at all. He'd be beaten alive in a fight with a Goron. No, there were other, more peaceful methods. He sat down against the wall and took out his Ocarina. "I'll just wait. And since I'm going to be here awhile, I might as well have something to do." He began to play the same song he had first played when he got his Ocarina. He figured it might annoy Darunia to the point he'd be willing to do anything. The Goron seemed to have a very short temper, after all. "Fine," Darunia huffed, and sat down on the stone chair against the wall.  
  
Navi wanted to laugh out loud. They looked like a pair of children. That won't work, Navi told him telepathically. It just won't. Link got irritable. He hated it when Navi read his mind. His thoughts were supposed to be his own. Well, he thought back testily, What would you suggest?  
  
I don't know. Maybe you could go find him a rock or something, she thought. Link rolled his eyes. He heard in his head the distant echoing notes of the forest. He smiled, knowing since it was in his head, Navi could hear it too. The thought of home no longer depressed him, although he longed for it, he knew he had made...amends, almost. It put his mind to rest. And played the Ocarina in tune with the one back home, even though he couldn't see it or hear it.  
  
Darunia jerked his head up. "What's he playing?" he asked Navi. "I like it...." Before Link knew what happened, Darunia was dancing around the room joyfully. Link just sat there with his mouth open slightly, Ocarina dangling from his fingertips on his right hand. "I love that beat!" Darunia shouted. Link had stopped playing, but Darunia was still dancing. It was several minutes before he stopped. His mood seemed to improve drastically.  
  
"You know what, kid? I like you. What's your name?" Link, still slightly shocked, managed to stammer out, "I-I'm Link." The Goron pulled Link rapidly to his feet, and shook his hand so hard that Link felt his teeth rattle. "Listen, I'm sorry I acted the way that I did, but what I said, I meant. However, I'll make you a deal. You get rid of the Dodongos and I'll get rid of my Stone. You can take it off my hands."  
  
Link grinned, letting out a silent cheer. "Good luck," Darunia said, pumping Link's hand again. He then gave instructions for getting to the cave, and warned Link about the toughness of the creatures. After his teeth stop rattling, Link thanked him and headed for the trail.  
  
"So," he said to Navi when they got outside, "Now what?" She rolled her eyes. "We go to the Dodongos Cavern." Link loved proving her wrong. "But, don't forget, it's sealed up, remember?" She glared, her light turning slightly red. "Go find a bomb then. Or a bomb flower."  
  
"A what?"  
  
"A bomb flower. It's a bomb that grows on a plant, and you pick it, and then it blows up."  
  
"How am I supposed to get it down to the cave in time, though?"  
  
"What do I look like, an instruction manual? Go figure it out yourself." This really irritated him, that she knew and he didn't and he wouldn't tell him. What was worse was that Navi knew it irritated him. She flew in front of him, leading him over to a single flower near the edge of a cliff. He stood in front of it and stared at it. "Well?" Navi asked.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Pick it up."  
  
"No."  
  
"Link...."  
  
"What?"  
  
"All you have to do is throw it off the side of the cliff...how hard is that?" Her voice sounded pained. Facing away from her, Link grinned. He'd known she couldn't resist telling him for too long.  
  
"I don't happen to think it's that funny!"  
  
"Navi, stop reading my mind."  
  
Sighing, Link grabbed the bomb, and it felt cool in his hands. Until it started glowing red. "Link, throw it!" Navi shouted. Link chucked the bomb off the edge of the cliff, and it exploded right when it hit the boulder blocking the path. "Well." Link said.  
  
"C'mon, let's go."  
  
Link carefully made his way down the trail, Navi flying closely behind. Up close, the damage from the explosion could be seen more clearly. There were tiny chunks of rock everywhere. "Cool!" Navi shook her head at his childishness.  
  
He walked into the cave, which was actually a long tunnel, and then a cave. As he got nearer to the end, it started to get hot. Not hot enough to kill anyone, but just hot enough to make him uncomfortable. "We must be getting close to the center of the mountain," Navi whispered, and Link started to sweat. He didn't complain, though, he knew he would only get lectured. When he finally got to the inside of the cave, he gasped.  
  
The cave was dimly lit by torches, and the lava pit in the room helped a great deal. But more extraordinary than lava was the gigantic skull hanging in the center of the room, it's mouth gaping open. "What is it?" Link asked, his jaw dropping. "A Dodongo." Seeing the look on Link's face, she added quickly, "Don't worry, they're not all that big. Most of them are about your size or smaller." This wasn't much comfort, but it seemed better than having to face monsters of that size. He saw that the only path he could take was through the skull's mouth, but he had to cross a lava river to get there. When he pointed this out to Navi, her light dimmed a little. She frowned, thinking.  
  
"Well," she said, "You could always try jumping, but you'd only get one try, and if you missed, you'd be cooked. Literally." She continued to think, as if she were under a spell. Link nodded, but he was feeling reckless. "Oh, why not?" he murmured under his breath. Navi snapped out of her trance to stare at him. "Huh?" Navi snapped out of the trance to stare at him.  
  
"Wait a second...Link, you aren't going to—" But she was too late. Link was already backing up, getting ready for a long jump across to the other side. "Link, NO!" Navi yelled, but Link was off and running. As his feet left the ground, he felt like he was flying. He just hoped he didn't land in the wrong place.  
  
In one swift motion, Link's feet hit the ground on the other side. Losing his balance, he fell down and rolled a couple of feet. He lay there for a minute, dazed. Navi flew up to him. "You idiot. You could have killed yourself." She tried to make her voice sound angry at him, but the truth was, it was shaking. "But I didn't," said Link. He got to his feet, brushing dirt off his clothes. "C'mon, let's go." He felt no fear walking through the skeleton's mouth, only fascination. Link walked through another long, dark, tunnel that seemed to be spiraling upwards. He walked for a little while, then came to a door. He opened it, and walked inside.  
  
Link instantly leapt back out of the door with a yelp. Something had made a shot at him. Link got out his sword, but Navi stopped him. "Get a Deku Nut," she whispered. He had no clue why, but he got one out anyway. "When I tell you to," she continued, "throw it at that thing that shot at you." Link glanced at her, utterly bewildered. "Navi, I don't think—"  
  
"NOW!"  
  
Link jumped out into the room, threw the Deku Nut, and leapt back out to avoid being blinded by the flash. When the light died down, he peered at whatever it was that had attacked him. It looked like a big, yellow pot at first, with another pot stacked on top of it. Looking closer, however, Link discovered the smaller pot was actually an eye. The only thing he could think of to say was, "Huh?"  
  
"It's a Beamos. They shoot lasers at anything they see. The trick is to get them where they can't see anything. Which is why you used a Deku Nut." Link nodded absentmindedly. "Riiight." Navi flew up to inspect the Beamos. "We'll probably be seeing a lot of these, so keep your guard up." Just then the Beamos started to shake and the eye glowed red. "Move it!" Navi yelped. Obviously the Deku Nuts didn't last very long. Link ran to the other side of the room, out of its range, just as the laser fired.  
  
"Well, Link, I think that went really well, don't you?"  
  
* * *  
  
"Impa?"  
  
"Yes sir?"  
  
"Have you seen Zelda? I want to talk to her."  
  
"I think she's in her room. I'll go and get her?"  
  
The King nodded. Impa left the front hall to go upstairs. When she got to Zelda's room, she didn't even bother to knock. Zelda was always there now, since her meeting with Link in the Courtyard, and no one ever went in her room but herself, Impa, and occasionally the King.  
  
Zelda was sitting on the balcony, letting the warm spring wind blow across her face. It was one of the few activities that always seemed to soothe her when she was upset or nervous. She didn't jump when Impa came onto the balcony with her. Her presence never startled Zelda anymore. She put a gentle hand on Zelda's shoulder. "Zelda, your father wants to talk to you."  
  
At first Zelda wasn't sure she heard Impa right. Her father wanted to...talk to her? But why? Maybe she'd done something wrong. Sighing, Zelda got up. "Did he say why?"  
  
"No, and I didn't ask."  
  
"Impa..." Zelda felt foolish asking, but she did anyway. "Impa, would you...go with me? I mean, I know it sounds dumb, but...well...." Impa nodded. "It's ok, of course I'll come." She hated to see Zelda like this. It was hard to remember the once happy girl who had been close to her father. She could try to picture Zelda as she used to be, rebellious, full of energy and mischief, cunning, sneaky, always pulling pranks and making jokes, but it wasn't the same. The happy little girl that used to be Zelda was gone. Impa hoped that wherever Link was, he was doing his best to get the Spiritual Stones.  
  
When they got downstairs to the front hall, the King took Zelda away from Impa and took her to a quiet room for them to be alone. When they were settled, he said to her, "Zelda, you haven't been yourself lately. I know you don't like Ganondorf, but I think—"  
  
"Daddy, he's evil! He wants to hurt us! Why can't you see it?"  
  
The King sighed. He hadn't meant to turn this into another argument. But it looked as though it was going to turn into one anyway. "Listen, honey, I don't know why you think that of him. He's trying to make peace with us, so there won't be any more fighting." Zelda rose up out of her chair, not hearing Impa use her Shekiah skills to sneak to the door. Impa wanted to hear what the King had to argue with this time. Surely he couldn't ignore Zelda forever.  
  
"Daddy," Zelda said, "I know you don't believe me, and that you think it's just my imagination, but it's true. It really is true. You think I'm kidding, but I'm serious. Every time I get near him, the evil makes me sick. I have nightmares, and they tell me things. You don't believe me because you think ten years old is too young to know anything, but it isn't. It isn't."  
  
"Zelda—"  
  
"Daddy, if it was, I wouldn't feel sick the way I do every time I get near him. I wouldn't feel all cold and shivery when he looks at me, I wouldn't be afraid of him, I wouldn't be different anymore. Don't you get it? He wants to hurt us!"  
  
"Zelda, enough of this nonsense. I wanted to talk to you maturely, but I can see you aren't going to let that happen. Ganondorf is a perfectly nice man. He wants to make peace, and—"  
  
"He does not!"  
  
"Enough! Zelda, go to your room. Now."  
  
"Daddy—"  
  
"I said now. And I meant it. Go." Impa hurried up the stairs to Zelda's room, so she wouldn't be seen.  
  
Zelda walked out of the small room, slamming the door behind her as hard as she could. How could her father be such an idiot? She started up the stairs when a voice behind her chilled her heart and made her blood run cold.  
  
"So, Princess, been chatting with your father again?"  
  
Zelda turned around. "What do you want?" she whispered angrily, unable to speak any louder. The fear in her was evident, and Ganondorf laughed menacingly. "Simple enough, girl. I want you to stay out of my way. You have no idea what you're dealing with. I've tortured hundreds of others to death, killing you wouldn't bother me one bit. And I could hide the truth easily, oh, so easily. After all, no one missed the Composer Brothers, now did they?"  
  
"So that's what happened to them! You monster!"  
  
"My, my, Princess, watch your tongue."  
  
"One day my father will believe me, he'll see past your act and have you killed!"  
  
Ganondorf sneered at her. "Do you honestly think death can stop me? I, the King of Evil, who has more magical powers than you can ever imagine seeing?"  
  
He took off the glove on his right hand. "Because I now know what awaits me once I get rid of the Royal Family and all those who aid them." He said in a low, menacing voice. He held his hand up, the back of it facing her, and she could just barely make out the faintest of marks, in the shape of a triangle.  
  
Zelda knew this had to signify something terrible, but she didn't know what it was. Her heart was pounding too fast. She heard movement behind her. Spinning around, Zelda saw Impa standing at the top of the stairs. "Impa!" she said gratefully. Ganondorf put the glove back on his hand. "Remember what I said, girl," he told her, pointing a threatening finger at her. He turned and walked back down the stairs.  
  
Zelda rushed up to the bathroom and threw up. Impa came in after her. "Zelda, are you okay?" Zelda only had the energy to shake her head and sink to the floor, sobbing, before she passed out. Impa carried her to her bed and laid her down.  
  
Impa had seen the triangle on his hand. That meant he was destined for a Triforce piece, and it could be none other than Power, since he had no Wisdom, and probably very little Courage. She shivered, knowing what he could be capable of with it at his disposal.  
  
"Goddesses be with us," she whispered.  
  
* * *  
  
"Link?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Can I ask you something?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
Link landed with a thud on the dirt for about the fourteenth time. He groaned as he got up. "I told you, I gotta get to that chest over there."  
  
"But why?"  
  
"Well...I already stunned a Beamos and blew up an Armos with a bombflower, and there's no where left to go without blowing up that wall over there—" He took a running start, and tried to jump the gap between himself and the chest again. He landed face first in the bottom of the five foot pit. One side had a few rocks jutting out so he could climb back up, but the side near the chest was smooth. Not climbable.  
  
"—and there might be bombs in the chest." he finished. Navi sighed. "You're never going to get over that way. All you're going to get is sore."  
  
"Well, genius, what bright ideas do you have?"  
  
Navi looked around the room. The truth was, genius didn't have any bright ideas at all. Then her eyes fell on a big stone block. Flying over to it, she said, "Link, push that into the hole, and use it to climb up."  
  
"Huh?" Link's eyes followed her gaze, and he saw it too. It looked heavy, but anything was worth a try. He shoved the block into the pit, then leaned against it to catch his breath. "If this doesn't work, I'll kill you." Navi rolled her eyes. Link climbed up on the block, managed to grab hold of the side of the ledge, and pulled himself up. "Yeeess!"  
  
Link, feeling a little sore from all that jumping, but glad all the same, kicked open the chest. Feeling around the dusty space, he pulled out a leather bag full of bombs. It would have been perfect, but the bombs were all about the size of a really little pebble. Link raised an eyebrow and wordlessly showed the bag to Navi. Navi, however, looked delighted. "They're tiny! Now you can hold a lot at the time!"  
  
"You seem to be missing the point. Compared to bombs this little, my Deku Nuts would be better at unblocking the door."  
  
"Link, Link, Link." Navi tutted. "Don't you know anything? Hey, don't look at me like that, I'm trying to help! AH!"  
  
Link snatched at Navi, trying to catch her in his hat.  
  
"Let me go, so I can tell you how to use the stupid things. Link, let me out of here!"  
  
"How bout no?"  
  
"Liiink!"  
  
"Fine, fine, just stop whining."  
  
He opened his hat and she zipped out, looking ruffled. "All you have to do is squeeze them, and they get bigger. Just like picking a bomb flower. You just pick it, and it gets ready to expl—"  
  
BOOM.  
  
"That was fast," Navi remarked as Link kicked his way through the dirt he had just blasted. "You're a quick learner."  
  
"Do you ever stop talking?"  
  
"Only when I sleep."  
  
"Great."  
  
Link walked through the door, and was immediately attacked by what looked like two green bolts of lightning zipping around the room. What was worse, there nothing but tiny rock islands all around the room; the rest was just lava. Link muttered something under his breath that made Navi stop in midair in shock. "Watch what you say!"  
  
Link drew out his sword, ignoring her. "You guys wanna fight, that's what you'll get." He slashed his sword sideways at them, but they were too fast. He didn't even know what they were.  
  
"Lizalfos, dummy!"  
  
"Stop reading my mind!"  
  
"Isn't there a way to make them stop moving?"  
  
Link suddenly had a bright idea of his own, and in one swift movement, pulled out a Deku Nut and fired it at the nearest green blur. The blur let out a shrieking cry, turned blue from the light, and froze on the spot. The bad thing about Deku Nuts was that they momentarily blinded Link too, even if the enemy stayed stunned longer. Knowing there was another around, he closed his eyes, and threw three more Deku Nuts in random locations around him, and heard another shriek. When his vision returned, he was able to destroy both of the blinded creatures easily.  
  
"You know, you could try closing your eyes when those things go off, it works for me."  
  
"Yeah, but I'm not used to having white light radiating from my body. You are."  
  
"Oh, shut up, I'm trying to help."  
  
Link didn't reply. Normally he enjoyed these arguments because they kept his spirits up, but right now he was hot and tired, which made him irritable.  
  
His mood didn't improve when he walked straight into a hole as a result of staring at the rocky ceiling. Link hardly had time to shout in surprise when he landed on the ground below him with a thud.  
  
"Oooomph."  
  
The fall hadn't been that far, and the ground was made of ash instead of rock, so he figured he hadn't broken anything. Gingerly, he got to his feet. All he had was a few bruises. Link brushed himself off, and looked around. He was in a square room, in the middle was a pool of boiling lava. He had landed in a corner, and now he walked forward, checking out his surroundings. He thought he heard a noise behind him, but paid it no attention.  
  
Until Navi started stuttering incomprehensibly from ahead of him.  
  
"L-link, l-look...t-turn—b-behind, i-i-its h-huge—"  
  
"What?" Link wheeled around, and the only thing he could think was, My life is over.  
  
The thing that been behind him wasn't huge at all. It was enormous. Its green, scaly hide was moist with perspiration from the heat, and it was curled up into a ball, but he knew what it was. "I thought you said Dodongos didn't get this big," Link whispered.  
  
"I thought they couldn't."  
  
Then, once again, the evil voice that had spoken to him when he was in the Deku tree floated out of nowhere. "So, you're trying to help the girl, are you? Well, boy, I'm sure this will be the last thing you ever do. King Dodongo will eat you alive." The laughter, loud, horrible mirthless laughter, echoed around the room. "Yes, you finally figured it out, didn't you? I'm watching your every move, and now I'll watch you die as well." Before he could yell out to ask where the voice was coming from, the Dodongo rolled itself past Link, and he jumped out of the way, landing dangerously close to the lava.  
  
He gasped, standing on his toes and balancing himself to keep from burning to death. He watched the thing unroll itself and stand to it's full height. Link swallowed hard. He wondered how long it would take for it to eat him alive, or if it would shoot fire at him to cook him first.  
  
"But you can't give up now! You have to fight! There are people depending on you!"  
  
This comment snapped Link back to his senses, and just as the thing was opening its mouth to breathe fire, he grabbed a bomb and threw. The bomb landed in its mouth, right on target. King Dodongo was slightly surprised, and swallowed it.  
  
"Yes!" Link let out a small cheer.  
  
The bomb blew up, the Dodongo started rolling, and Link took cover closer to the wall this time. He dived in the corner, hoping the thing wouldn't squash him. The Dodongo rolled past him, all the way around the room until it was behind him, ready for another attack. Link didn't see it until too late. The fire shot out of the creature's mouth, and he put himself back in the corner, feeling heat behind his fireproof shield. When it died down, Link checked himself to make sure he was mostly okay, other than his burns, then turned around to find King Dodongo ready to blow more fire. Link fed him a bomb and got back into the corner, feeling a lot like a rabbit.  
  
But King Dodongo didn't roll around the room this time. Dizzy, injured, swaying, he rolled right off the edge of the dirt into the lava. Link winced and shut his eyes tightly while he heard the anguished screams of the thing. When he opened them, a blackened head was all that could be seen above the surface of the lava, its burned out eyes staring at him. Link shivered, despite the heat. He walked across the now cooled lava toward it. There was a noise behind him, and he whirled around.  
  
A huge diamond made of blue light was floating just a few inches above the lava, hovering as though waiting for him to get in. "Oh," Navi said. "That's a portal, it should take you out of here. I dunno where it'll go, actually, but it's gotta be better than staying here with that." She bobbed in the direction of the corpse of King Dodongo. Link, tearing his eyes away from the horrible corpse, nodded and stepped inside the blue light.  
  
It was the weirdest sensation he'd ever felt, as if silk were lightly brushing over his entire body, then prickling as he went sort of numb, floating into the air, and then the light grew, and he was floating downward, in front of Goron City. Darunia and some other Gorons must have seen him coming, or knew he was going to be there somehow, because they were all waiting.  
  
"Kid," said Darunia when Link landed, "Thanks. You earned my respect and the Ruby." And he handed Link the beautiful red stone. "Also, he said, clapping Link on the back so hard he fell to his knees, "I'd like to make you my Sworn Brother. There's no big ceremony or anything, just the promise that we'll always help each other out. Hey, little brother, where'd you go?" Link stood up and shook Darunia's hand, and felt his teeth rattle again. He still had a few burns from the cavern, and when Darunia offered to treat them in the city, Link had to refuse politely. He didn't think Gorons were all that bad, but it was hard to believe they could be gentle enough to treat his burns without some serious pain. He climbed down the mountain, too exhausted to enjoy the beautiful sunset around him.  
  
Author's note: Yeah, I'm having this little problem...updating. I still can't figure out the html thing, but that's cause I'm not the brightest fairy in the forest. So you'll have to do without it for now. Anyway, thanks for...being patient? Can't see why you like it, but hey.... I'm working on Ch13 right now, aaalmost done. Then we get to do something interesting. (I'm only stuck on the dammed fish in the STORY because that's where I get stuck in the GAME. ') I have part of Ch13 up on my webspace (link in my profile) but I try and wait to finish the whole Chapter before it goes here. And if you have friggin' AIM, IM me! Teach me how to do html! And thanks for the reviews too! I like reviews. Reviews kill my writer's block. 


	9. Chapter Thirteen: The Final Stone

This is the majority of Ch13. It's actually longer than most of my chapters, so I might just call this the whole thing and make a new one, but yeah...I was too impatient to wait for my writer's block to go away. Just a little warning, the end is a little...angsty. Oo' Anyway, enough blabber, here's the story.  
  
Chapter Thirteen: The Final Stone  
  
"Talk about déjà vu," Link said back in the Inn, where Johan and Kylia were helping him treat his burns. "This is the second time in a week I came down that mountain dead tired."  
  
"Well," Kylia said, "Better dead tired than just dead, right?"  
  
Link nodded. After coming down the mountain, he was too tired to make the trip to the castle before night rolled around, so he had slept at the base of it, or tried to, since his burns gave him so much discomfort. His back was still sore, and even Navi told him he'd have to wait another day before going after the Zora's Sapphire.  
  
"The what?"  
  
"Oh, it's the Spiritual Stone of Water."  
  
"But what's a Zora?"  
  
"A fish person." She laughed at the confusion on his face. He bit his lip as Johan put some ointment on his back to help heal the burns. "I know that stings, but it'll only hurt for a little while, and heal the burns pretty quickly." Link nodded and stood up, putting his tunic back on over the bandages. "Thanks," he told them.  
  
"You'll get it when you meet one. They usually tend to be...um...snobbish, I guess, but they're nice and even helpful if they want to be."  
  
"Okaaay."  
  
"But you still have to wait for those burns to heal."  
  
"But Navi—"  
  
"No buts." Link rolled his eyes as he flopped back down on the chair. "So does that mean I get to be lazy today?"  
  
"Aren't you lazy all the time?"  
  
Johan and Kylia laughed while Link tried to snatch Navi out of the air again. Finally, he gave up. "So, what's there to do around here? I can't exactly go looking for trouble in the woods." From the way he said this, Johan guessed that this must have been a previous pastime. "Just hang around," Navi suggested.  
  
Link took out his fairy Ocarina and started using his sword to carve his name onto it. Navi watched interestedly. "Don't you think you'll cut yourself?"  
  
"No." Link bit his lip again as his finger slipped and a trickle of blood ran down his hand. Navi started laughing at him, but Kylia handed Link another bandage, which he used to stop the bleeding. Then she handed him a carving knife. "There," she said. That might work better."  
  
"Well," Johan said, "I think he should be able to go off tomorrow, so long as he takes it easy today." Johan knew Link hated being treated like a child, even though he was one. Link nodded up at the fairy floating near his ear. "Yeah, Navi," he said, "I'll go anyway, you're two inches high, how are you going stop me?" Navi huffed and didn't say anything, just sat down on top of Link's head. Link took that as a yes. "Great!"  
  
"So all I have to do is be lazy now, then I can go tomorrow. Are you really sure that there's no place to look around?" Johan knew Link meant explore. "No, I never said that," Johan told Link. "Remember, I told you these used to be secret passage ways in the Wars. Way back in the back near Kylia's room, there's a few of them that lead to a little field on a hill, if you want to go look."  
  
Link jumped up, not noticing Navi catapult into the air, yelling "Hey!" His knife dropped to the floor along with his Ocarina, and he had to pick them up. Link was eager to do something, but winced and sat back down, feeling his burns. Link got up more slowly, so the pain in his back would subside a little. Kylia volunteered to go with him. "Hey," Link said in such a perfect imitation of Navi that she looked around to see where it had come from, "You're coming too, you gotta be our light." She huffed again, and said, "You know, for your information, I'm three inches h—" He grabbed her out of the air, cutting off her sentence. "Lemme go, I'm coming, I'm coming!" she squeaked.  
  
Kylia led Link to her room, just a couple of doors down from his. It didn't have much in it except for weapons and two round pieces of wood on her nightstand. Pointing to them, Link asked her, "What are those?"  
  
"Oh, they're Gerudo instruments, you put them on your hands and they work like maracas. They're used for passing information in war." She put them on her hands, and played out a rhythm for him. "Wow, neat," Navi commented. Kylia put the hand maracas down and went to a stretch of wall next to her bed. She ran her fingers over what appeared to be a crack in the wallpaper, then dug her nails into it and pulled. Link was very surprised when the wall actually opened. There was a narrow hallway that led down below the ground. Kylia went in first, and Link grabbed at Navi and followed.  
  
The tunnel led deeper and deeper into the ground until Link could no longer see any light but Navi's. After a little while it started to slope upwards, and Link noticed bolts in the walls where handrails must have been. When they finally got to the field, Link's ears had popped. As they went through the trap door that led to the field, Link asked, "Are you sure we're not on top of a mountain?" Kylia glanced at him. "No," she said. "Actually, we probably are on a mountain, but nobody can prove anything; we can't figure out how to put this on a map." She shrugged. "It's weird."  
  
Link spun around in a circle very slowly, taking in his surroundings. There was a pond thriving with fish, he could see them swimming around and surfacing all the way from where he was standing. There were also woods, a small patch of them, but to Link they looked like tiny weeds. There was also an excellent view of the landscape below, but Link didn't recognize it.  
  
He started the ten minute walk toward the woods, assuring Kylia that he couldn't get them lost because of his excellent sense of direction. Whatever comment Navi made at this, they didn't hear it over the roll of thunder in the distance. By the time they reached the forest, lightning was flashing, and it was beginning to look like night.  
  
Link groaned. "But we just got here." He wasn't ready to leave yet. But as the wind began to blow, fiercely, Link changed his mind. He started to turn t o the field, keeping his eyes on the dark clouds above, but Kylia stopped him. "This way," she said. She grabbed Link's arm, and pulled him further into the woods. She didn't change directions, as if looking for shelter, but kept going straight. Finally, they reached a clearing with another trap door. Link noticed sort of a gold glow behind the trees further along, and he stopped to stare at it, hypnotized. Then Kylia yanked on his arm.  
  
"This way was shorter," She said, panting slightly, not noticing the way he was staring. "C'mon." Navi, who had dived under Link's hat, flew back out to light the way. Just before they got into the passage, rain began to pour down in buckets. Link and Kylia were soaked. They climbed the ladder to the bottom of another path, then went down several flights of stairs. Kylia stopped to rest near the bottom of the stairs, swearing under her breath.  
  
"Sorry," she said apologetically, "It's just...."  
  
"Just what?" Navi asked while Link wrung out his clothes.  
  
"Well, another really weird thing about that place is when we go up there, storms usually start after about four of five hours. But...that's the quickest I've ever seen it come, and that's one of the worse storms I've ever seen. It's almost like there's something up there no one is supposed to know about. " She shrugged. "Way of life, I guess. C'mon," she finished, before Link could mention the glow behind the trees. "Let's go get into some dry clothes."  
  
The path widened slightly and went up, and they came out into Johan's room, where he was laying on his bed, reading. He looked up at the sudden noise of the pair of them coming in, and when he saw them drenched in water, he had to fight the urge to laugh. "That was quick," he said. Kylia glared, knowing he was highly amused. "It isn't funny, the storm's never came up that fast before."  
  
"Ah, you'll live. Go find some dry clothes, both of you, lunch is almost done."  
  
* * *  
  
"Hey, Link?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I thought I told you to be lazy today."  
  
"Aw, Navi, c'mon, I was lazy."  
  
"Sure."  
  
Link was too tired to snatch her out of the air, and she flitted out of the room. Over lunch he and the others had heatedly discussed the meaning of the glow and the storm, and also the problem of the mountain being unplottable, but about a little before supper, Link had gotten bored again, having finished carving his name in the Ocarina, and not being up to anything exciting. He sat in the armchair, wishing he could have gone off for the Spiritual Stone then instead of later. It's not fair! So what if I burned my back, I need something to do! Link thought angrily.  
  
"Hey." Navi was back.  
  
"Look and listen, yeah. Whatcha need?"  
  
"Nothing, except to tell you that supper's done," Navi replied haughtily.  
  
"Okay, I'm coming."  
  
Link trudged into the kitchen and dipped himself some soup, then trudged back to the chair and sat back down with a thump, eating his soup absentmindedly. Navi followed him. They stayed there until Link went to bed, his back still protesting whenever he moved too much.  
  
It wasn't until after Link was asleep and Navi was curled up on his cap that she realized: She had seen a small, barley noticeable scar on the back his hand, a very tiny mark, a mark that was so small Link himself might not even be able to see it at all. But she did, and she had a very good idea what it could mean....  
  
The mark was in the shape of a triangle.  
  
* * *  
  
Link awoke the next morning to Navi yanking on his ears. She had broken her vow of not waking him up early, and was ready to go get the next Spiritual Stone.  
  
"Liiiink!" she howled, "Wake up!"  
  
"Mmmmfph."  
  
"You were the one who wanted to go get the stupid Sapphire so bad, now get up, it looks like rain, we have to hurry up...."  
  
Rain. Link sat up in bed, jarred awake, the word his only conscious thought.  
  
Rain, it had been there, when it was happening....  
  
Rain...  
  
Thunder...a white horse...drawbridge...the Princess...a black horse...then the rain...then him....  
  
There was rain. It was raining in my dream.  
  
"Link? Are you okay?" Navi didn't get an answer, so she tried reading his mind, and she got flashes of his thoughts. All she could make out was the word rain.  
  
A spell, a blinding flash...then, pain, beyond anything, then he was gone...then....  
  
Nothing. Except for rain, falling on his face, wet and cold....  
  
"Link?"  
  
"Huh?" Navi's voice, concerned now, finally jarred out him of his thoughts. "Oh, sorry...." Link muttered, but he was thinking, What just happened? He took a deep breath.  
  
"Are you okay?" asked Navi.  
  
"Yeah, fine."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Wish I knew...."  
  
But he did know. His dream, the one he kept forgetting, he remembered now, he had dreamed it again last night, he remembered the fear when he was waking up in the middle of the night, panting and sweating.  
  
It looks rain? Link thought.  
  
"Yeah, why?"  
  
"Stop doing that! It's my mind, you shouldn't just barge in whenever you feel like it!"  
  
"Sorry, but there is something you're not telling me. I just want to figure out what's wrong!"  
  
"Nothing's wrong," Link said quietly. A lie, of course. He remembered only two things about the dream: Navi was there, and he saw himself die. If it looked like rain, that might mean....  
  
No! No, I'm not going to think like that. I'm not gonna die today.  
  
Although she didn't reveal it, Navi caught the last sentence, and looked at Link, puzzled, and very glad he couldn't see the expression on her face through all the light. Why does he think he going to die? Navi thought worriedly. Why...?  
  
* * *  
  
Impa was still sitting with Zelda when she woke up later that evening. Zelda opened her eyes and sat up, then immediately put aside her shudders long enough to ask questions about Ganon's hand.  
  
Impa didn't want to answer them, but she did. She explained that those with a triangle on their hand were destined for a piece of the sacred Triforce. She re-told the legends she had shared with Link, so that Zelda knew she was to be careful. Zelda's hand had started itching as Impa spoke, and she absentmindedly started to scratch it.  
  
When Impa was done, Zelda's hand was red from the scratching. Impa noticed, and took a closer look.  
  
Then she gasped.  
  
When Zelda asked what was wrong, all Impa could do was point at the reddened hand, and stutter out a single word, her voice barely a whisper.  
  
"Tri...tri...angle. A triangle."  
  
* * *  
  
Link, feeling grumpy at Navi, walked into the kitchen. Johan was up already, cooking breakfast, and Link knew he must have gone to bed late last night. He stared at Johan in amazement. "How do you do it?"  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"How do you cook all the food, stay up late, get up early, go to your job, and still have spare time?"  
  
"It's a particularly refined art, if I do say so myself." Johan grinned, knowing they'd expect him to keep the late hours instead of Poetrader.  
  
"And," Kylia spoke up from the door, scaring Navi into falling off the edge of the table, "I don't need to hesitate in pointing out his modesty either. He's so terribly modest, doncha think?"  
  
"She's so terribly tactful, don't you think?"  
  
This sent Link and Navi into laughter and made them forget they were mad at each other. Navi sat back on the edge of the table, eating a slice of egg, while Link stuffed his face. It took him less than five minutes. She watched, amused, as Link took off the heavy shield, stared at it, put it back on, then took it back off. Then he looked at it some more and put it back on, and in another second or two, took it off. He was about to put it on again when Navi interrupted.  
  
Laughing, she told him, "You might as well leave it off. If we're lucky, the Zoras'll just give us the Spiritual Stone, but if we're not, I have a feeling you'll be doing a lot of swimming." Link nodded, and set down his heavy Hylian shield. It wasn't long after that when they parted with Johan and Kylia headed out into Hyrule Field, Link consulting his map.  
  
"So," Link asked Navi as they were making their way towards the Zora's River, "What exactly is a Zora, one more time?"  
  
"A person with fins and scales and gills."  
  
"You mean you were serious when you said that?"  
  
"Would I lie to you?" Navi bit her lip. She would lie to him, in fact, she had been lying to him, about his parents. I have such a big mouth....  
  
"Do you really want me to answer that?" Link teased her.  
  
"Well," Navi shot back, "I think it's better than a lie, right?"  
  
"Indeed, I agree with both of you that lies are the ultimate crime."  
  
Link yelped and spun around, looking for the owl. "What're you doing here? And where the hell are you?"  
  
"Link," said Kaepora Gaebora, flying down to sit on the ground in front of the entrance to the river, "I must ask you to watch your language. After all, you're but ten, lad."  
  
"I'm not a little kid. What do you want?"  
  
"Only to warn you that things have changed around this place. The Zoras were once friendly, believe it or not—"  
  
Navi snorted.  
  
"—But now they are hostile, and will not accept you with ease. Be warned, lad." Kaepora Gaebora took off into the distance.  
  
Link rolled his eyes as the owl flew away. "He's so..." Link began, glancing at Navi.  
  
"...annoying!" She chimed in.  
  
"Like me?" Navi asked with fake innocence.  
  
"You bet." They laughed and walked in the entrance.  
  
Which was blocked by boulders. "Yeah," Link muttered., "And what's even more annoying is when he's right." He chucked a bomb at the boulders. "Stupid Zoras."  
  
Navi had to laugh. "You know, this river used to be famous for it's tranquillity, but looking at it now...."  
  
"I see what you mean."  
  
Ahead of the were rapids, huge, tall waterfalls, a sharply turning stream, with logs littering the path ahead. Broken bridges were obstacles as well as the large and sharp rocks. The currents were clearly more powerful than the castle moat. Broken gates blocked the path better than the boulders did, and Link said, staring at the river in wonder, "It's really annoying...when he's right."  
  
"I wonder why they got so hostile?"  
  
"Dunno...maybe...oh, no."  
  
"What? What's wrong?"  
  
"What if he got to them?"  
  
* * *  
  
Three days ago....  
  
Princess Ruto was in the fountain above the rushing water, feeding their guardian, Jabu-Jabu, fish from the river. She hated the man who had come here for the sole purpose of her mother's stone. It was hers, not his! And then when he had asked to marry her...ugh. Either he was desperate for the stone or he was into girls much younger than himself. Whatever the case, she found it disgusting. He had insisted on visiting the shrine to honor the guardian, and she thought that must have been what made him so restless. He was swimming around the pool, not coming up for the meal she had brought him.  
  
Ruto called out to the fish, but there was no answer. It was quiet all of the sudden. Too quiet....  
  
No sooner had she gotten the thought through her mind when she heard a splash behind her. She whirled around just in time to see the huge fish leaping out of the water at her, mouth open wide.  
  
Ruto didn't even have time to scream before it swallowed her whole.  
  
* * *  
  
Link had taken off, feeling sick, as the thought of Ganon had entered his mind. Navi had made him slow down and be careful, it was easy enough to get hurt here without a burned back. She sat on Link's head as he made his way up the river path, avoiding anything sharp or dangerous looking. After awhile, Link had to stop and rest, because getting up there without falling in to the heavily flowing river was tricky. He sat down on an unbroken log that stuck out into the river. Just to see how fast the current was, Link went out to where the river was running, took off his boots, and stuck his feet in.  
  
It didn't sweep him away as he had half expected to, but it was strong enough that Link took his feet out and didn't dare try putting them back in. Suddenly he felt a tingling on the back of his neck. "Look," Navi whispered. "Something's looking at you. From under the water."  
  
"Huh?" Link squinted at the current, trying to see what she was talking about. All of the sudden, frogs jumped out of the water and onto the only flat rocks in the river, about two feet away from him. Link quickly counted them, there were seven. The frogs that were yellow, green, red, blue, purple, and orange sat in a circle, and a big white one sat in the middle. Link stared at them. They stared back. He blinked.  
  
One of the frogs croaked.  
  
This startled Link and he almost fell into the river. Navi started laughing at him, but dove into his pocket after his fairy ocarina. "Here you go, try this."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well, I dunno, but some people think river frogs have magic in them, and respond to music. Can't hurt to try."  
  
Link put the ocarina to his lips and played what he now called the Forgotten Song, since he didn't remember where he had heard it. It was the song he had played in the grave when he had gotten bored of the Sun's Song, and also the first song he'd done by ear.  
  
He played one note and stopped. The yellow frog had leaped up and made a croak the same pitch as the music. Realizing what Navi was talking about, Link laughed out loud. "They're music frogs, Navi! Watch this."  
  
He then played the melody, and the frogs leapt and croaked and hopped until the melody was a complex harmony of layers and layers. Link finally ran out of breath and stopped playing. The frogs kept hopping, however, until they too appeared to tire out. Even Navi was having too much fun watching them to insist they hurry, and besides, the sitting down certainly couldn't be hurting Link's back.  
  
The green frog croaked. For some odd reason, Link could have sworn it sounded like speech. He shook his head. Then, staring at the frog, he said, "I'm not crazy, you really just talked, didn't you?" The frog croaked in what sounded like a yes. Navi looked from Link to the frog, very slowly. "Look, I'm not crazy, they can talk."  
  
The white frog leaped up and spoke. "I am the only one us who speaks intelligible human language. The rest cannot." Navi just stared in shock. "Told you," Link hissed. "So, how'd you guys learn to do that, anyway?"  
  
"The fairy—"  
  
"My name's Navi, you know, not fairy."  
  
"—was right, we are river frogs, and posses powerful magic. We see the past and future. We also are able to pick up any tune, as she said, we respond to music. Playing songs makes us happy; we are in your debt, because so little people in the world are good with the ocarina anymore. We will live forever, and we enjoy the music."  
  
"You are very quick with the ocarina, very skilled. If you do not mind us asking, where did you learn that song?"  
  
"I can't remember, I'm sorry."  
  
"It's fine, What did you say your name was?"  
  
"Link." A general wave swept over the frogs, what would have been a murmur if they had been human. "What? It's not a weird name, I like it."  
  
"Indeed." The white frog looked at Navi hard. Then he said, "If you ever learn more songs, we will always be here. We are bound by duty to protect the river. Luck to you, Link and Navi." The frogs jumped into the water.  
  
"Weird," said Link, "But cool. Y'know, for frogs, they aren't so bad." Link continued up the path.  
  
When he was beginning to feel as though his legs were going to fall off from all the walking, Link ran into yet another obstacle. Probably the toughest one yet. A hundred feet high, and vertical with smooth rock, the source of the deadly current was sitting right in front of him, in the form of a waterfall. "How the h—"  
  
"Link!"  
  
"—am I supposed to get up that thing?"  
  
"Try the rocks up there, you might be able to jump, or get someone's attention so you won't have to." Link obeyed, climbing the grass covered rocks slowly and carefully. When he got to the place closest to the waterfall and could go no further, he called out above the roar.  
  
"Hello! Is anyone there?" He squinted through the mist. Beyond the shining, crystal clear water, he thought he could make out a girl...or was it?  
  
The figure beyond the falls was indeed female, but she was a light blue. She looked taller than him, and older, but not too old, because she was shorter than Kylia was. Fins sharp as knives stuck out of her elbows, and another fin, like a fishtail, was coming out of the back of her head. Her hands were webbed, and her feet were more like fins. She had scales all over her body.  
  
So, Link thought, this is a Zora.  
  
Cupping her hands to her mouth to be heard above the waterfall, she shouted, "I'm guard! What do you want?"  
  
"I need to see who's in charge!"  
  
"You can't see King Zora, he's very worried right now!"  
  
"More reason to let me see him!" Link thought fast. Ganon must have come here and caused trouble. "The Princess Zelda sent me!"  
  
There was silence. Then a reply: "I don't believe you! Prove it!"  
  
Link glared at her, but she just glared back with her hands on her hips and stared him down.  
  
"Link," Navi hissed, "I think now would be a good time to get that ocarina back out." She dove into his pocket and got it for him. Realizing what he had to do, he put the ocarina to his lips and played the song that he had mastered at the Inn's fireplace, Zelda's Lullaby.  
  
More silence. Then the water seemed to stop flowing.  
  
"Hurry up," the Zora said impatiently, "I can't keep that stopped for long, just jump." Link didn't want to, but he did anyway, and landed safely on the other side just as the water began to pour back down. "C'mon inside, I'm s'posed to give ya the third d'gree b'fore I let you see anyone." Link hardly had time to noticed how her speech had changed now that she wasn't on duty when she turned and walked into the dark tunnel. Navi flew under Link's hat; she knew if she didn't she was just going to be stared at. Link followed the Zora closely until they saw light and he could see for himself.  
  
Link gasped out loud when he got to the Domain. A small hole in the roof allowed sunlight to pour down from above, and the rest of the place was lit with torches that were covered in flowered vines and barely burning because of all the moisture in the air. Mist was coming down from a waterfall that was almost as big as the one in the entrance. A deep pool was at its base, and Zoras were happily lazing on tiny rock islands that were covered in moss and flowers, or swimming around in the water. It was crystal clear with a blue tint, and Link could see to the very bottom, even though it had to be at least twelve feet deep. A rock pathway led to other place on his right, and a ladder to his left led down to the pool. "Navi," he said softly. "Navi, get out of there. You have to see this, it's...it's beautiful...."  
  
The Zora turned around to grin. "Yeah, I s'pose you'd think that, but I got kinda used to it, maybe I'm just a little spoiled, huh?" Then her face turned serious. "I'm on guard duty first time round, and I can't screw it up, so it's quiz time."  
  
"Okay, first off, why the h—" Navi rolled her eyes as the Zora repeated the delicate dialect Link had used just a few minutes ago, "—are you here?"  
  
"I need the Spiritual Stone of Water."  
  
The Zora bit her lip. "I dun think that'll do much for ya case. There was already a man here, wanting that thing. He was even willing t'marry our princess to get it, and she's actually a little bit of a brat. Nayru knows the girl isn't but ten, he only wanted t'marry her for that stone."  
  
"Want me to describe him?" Link asked, deadpan. "Wearing black, reddish orange hair, male Gerudo, ugly, stupid, and red eyes, right? Oh, yeah, and he was riding a black horse." The Zora's eyebrows shot up. "How'd ya—?"  
  
But Link was a million miles away. The words, black horse, had triggered something in his memory. About the dream. Rain, a horse, something was going desperately wrong...there was no time....  
  
"Hello? Ya with us?"  
  
"Huh?" Navi's yank on his ear and the Zora's voice pulled him back to reality. "Oh, sorry," Link said. "You could say I've heard a lot about him."  
  
"Ah. What's ya name, anyway?"  
  
"Link. You?"  
  
"Heather." She held out a webbed hand and he shook it. "Who's the lightin' bug?"  
  
Link laughed. "She's a fairy, her name's Navi."  
  
"Now tell me one more time why you need this stone?" She raised her eyebrows.  
  
Link took a deep breath. "I need it so I can get rid of the man who was here. His name is Ganon...dorf." Link had almost forgotten to use his fake name. "He's been harassing all of Hyrule for the three Spiritual Stones. He killed the guardian of my forest, nearly starved the Gorons, and now he's after you. Trust me, if he doesn't have that stone, he'll be back."  
  
Heather stared at him a moment, as if unsure if she could believe him or not. "'Kay, greeny, ya pass the test, c'mon up here." Link frowned.  
  
"Don't call me that," he said. She waved a webbed hand at him. "I'll call ya what I wanna. Nobody bosses me 'round, save for King Zora." Heather led him up the rock path, covered with slippery moss. Link looked at her feet and wondered how come she didn't fall. She had to be used to this, because he was stumbling, and he had boots on.  
  
When they got to the steps, Heather turned and said, "Go on up, I gotta go back to the gate. He'll know I let ya in, g'luck." And she turned back around, dove gracefully off the rocks, and swam back to her post. Link glanced at Navi. "I thought you said Zoras were snobbish, not weird and...well, whatever she was." Navi shrugged through her light. "I dunno, maybe she's just weird. You get an oddball in every group." Link walked up the stairs and Navi flew behind him. He counted them as he walked, thinking there would be a lot, but they just twisted and he was at a small wading pool with one rock in the middle of the room, and a tiny waterfall.  
  
There was a Zora here, but he wasn't skinny and graceful as the rest of them were. This Zora was fat. However, he had on robes, and Link knew he must be King Zora. Link cleared his throat. King Zora seemed to snap out of a trance.  
  
"The guard let you in?" he asked Link sharply. Link nodded. "Y-yes sir." He decided he might as well get it over with. "Um, listen, is their any possible way you could give me the Spiritual Stone of W—?"  
  
"No! Everyone who comes for that stone makes trouble! You shall not have it!"  
  
"Listen, I don't wanna make trouble, it's just that I—"  
  
"No! He took my daughter! You will take nothing! I will not rest until she is found!"  
  
"...your daughter?"  
  
"Yes. She owns the stone, not I. She is the female heir to the throne, so it is hers. I know that man must have taken her. She has been missing for quite some time now, ever since the other man was here. I'll have you know you're too late, my daughter isn't here, and you are never getting that stone, you don't have a chance until she is fou—"  
  
"King Zora!" A young male Zora rushed in the room. "King Zora, they found this near the lake current. There's a note inside, it looks like your daughter's handwriting." He handed a bottle to Link. "Here," he said, "You best read it first in case it's bad news."  
  
King Zora looked even more stressed now. "I hope not," was all he said. Link uncorked the bottle, unfolded the paper and began to read it. "It's okay," he said after a minute. Then he repeated the letter out loud:  
  
"To my father:  
  
I hope you have not worried over me, because although I am in trouble, no harm has befallen me yet. I have been swallowed in one piece by Lord Jabu Jabu while feeding him after the man who wanted the stone left. I am trapped with no way out. It seems as if someone has tried to harm him; there are strange things in here. I need help. I am writing this letter in hopes that it get to you through his gills or teeth.  
  
~Best of luck, your daughter Ruto."  
  
Link could almost hear her words as spoiled and pampered. He groaned inwardly.  
  
"Someone must get her away from him!" King Zora said. He looked at Link. Navi raised her eyebrows underneath the light around her. Surely he didn't have hope someone could get the girl out of a fish? But he did.  
  
"You, boy." Link turned to him. "Yeah?"  
  
"Will you go rescue my daughter? You have armor. And you want that stone."  
  
"But...you said it belongs to...."  
  
"Yes, I know, but if you save her, I will offer you her hand in marriage!" King Zora sounded as if he were offering Link some kind of reward.  
  
Link's eyes got wide. "Wha—" Navi yanked his ear. Just do it, she told him telepathically. You can get out of it later, you need that stone. Link glared at her, but nodded.  
  
"Very well," King Zora said. "You may keep the bottle, and you may have passage to the Zora's Fountain, a sacred place where Lord Jabu Jabu lives." He moved aside to let Link through to the tunnel behind him. "Best of luck, please save my precious daughter!"  
  
* * *  
  
"So what does this mean? I have a piece of the—"  
  
"Not so loud!"  
  
Zelda shook her head, looking down at the faint mark on her hand, which was all that was left of the redness from last night. When she had awoken in the morning, Impa was there, and she hadn't said anything except that she had looked it up, and Zelda was indeed destined for a Triforce piece. "But...why me?" Zelda whispered, tears in her eyes. "What did I do? I'm not wise, or courageous, o-or powerful. I'm scared of Ganondorf, and w-weak against him—" Her voice broke.  
  
"If I really do have this...this thing...that means I have to fight him and I can't," she sobbed. "I can't." She buried her face in her hands. "He's so much more stronger than me, and I won't have any help, because no one believes me. No one...no one...."  
  
Impa hugged her. "I believe you. And I'm going to do all I can to help. But Zelda, you're only ten, you're not ready yet. You just need to build up strength as you get older, so when the time comes, you can be ready."  
  
Zelda nodded, then said, "Impa, if Ganondorf has Power like you say, that must mean I have Wisdom, because I'm a coward, especially against him." She hung her head. Impa started to object, but Zelda continued. "I don't even know who has Courage, what if they're on Ganondorf's side?"  
  
Impa stood up, and pulled Zelda to her feet. "It's true that two pieces are better than one, but...." Impa bit her lip. She had an idea, but it might be wrong. "Well, let's just say that the Goddesses are with you, I think I know who the Courage holder is, and I'm almost certain he's on our side."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Don't worry about it. Just have faith, and everything will turn out okay." She wasn't completely sure about it this time, but this tactic had never failed her before.  
  
"Do you really think that?"  
  
"Yes. I do."  
  
* * *  
  
Link walked down the long rock tunnel, using Navi's light.  
  
"Why'd you make me agree to this? I'm not going inside a fish, and I'm not gonna marry a Zora."  
  
"You're going to get the stone, that's all there is to it."  
  
"Navi—"  
  
"Weren't you the bored one yesterday?"  
  
"But, Navi—"  
  
"No buts."  
  
"Honestly, you act like you're my mother or something."  
  
Navi winced. She wasn't his mother and she knew it. "C'mon, let's just go," she said.  
  
Link and Navi continued down the tunnel until they saw light. "Why," Link demanded, "is all of Hyrule connected with t...tun...." He was unable to finish his sentence.  
  
"Oh my...holy Nayru...."  
  
Link then looked at her, astonished, as she uttered words he'd never even heard before. "And you tell me off for my language. Geez, Navi."  
  
But as he looked at the fish in front of him, bigger than King Dodongo had been, at least twice his size, Link decided he couldn't really blame her. Link looked up into the clouds gathering into the sky. He thought he could see some kind of mountain, but the clouds continued to get heavier. Remembering his dream, he gave an involuntary shudder, and was glad Navi didn't notice.  
  
"Sorry," Navi said, jarring him back to reality, "But it's big...so, how are we getting inside?"  
  
"Inside? I don't think so," Link said, then he declared, "The only way I'm going in there is if it eats me."  
  
"That, dear Link," Navi shot back, "Can be arranged." Navi dove inside of Link's pocket, and pulled out the bottle from King Zora. Then she took a set of spare boot laces from his pocket.  
  
"Hey! I need those!"  
  
"Quit whining,"  
  
With excellent speed, Navi tied the laces to the mouth of the bottle, one heading out of each side, and handed the ends to Link. She picked up the bottle again, and tossed it into the water, away from Jabu Jabu. "There," she said. "Now catch a fish."  
  
Link had caught fish before in the forest, but never with a bottle, always with a hook at the end. To make things easier, he took out a Deku Stick and tied the laces to it. Navi became a sort of bait, since she could use her light as a shield, and in a little while Link had caught a fish.  
  
"So what am I supposed to do now?" Link asked as the fish flopped out of the bottle.  
  
"I dunno, you have to get him to open his mouth somehow." The fish began to flop wildly up and down. Jabu Jabu dived under the water silently.  
  
"I told you I'm not going in there. I mean, geez, what d'you want me to do, feed it to him?"  
  
"That might work."  
  
Lord Jabu Jabu jumped out of the water at the fish. Link's eyes widened for a split second, and he screamed. Link dived in the water to avoid being eaten, forgetting the fish and grabbing Navi. "He—" she started.  
  
"No time, c'mon."  
  
It was deathly silent after the splash of Jabu Jabu hitting the water. The water itself was deathly enough. On a normal day when the sun was out, it wouldn't be so bad, but now, it was freezing.  
  
"Link," whispered a terrified Navi in a shaking voice, "I...I changed m-my mind, there has to b-be another way."  
  
"B-be quiet!"  
  
Minutes passed before Link was able to move toward land. The water was still silent, nothing but Link and a stiff breeze disturbed its surface.  
  
"Link? D-did you h-hear that?"  
  
"H-hear what?" Link turned around.  
  
Oh, Goddesses, he thought. Oh, please, someone, anyone, help me....  
  
Jabu Jabu was right behind them, mouth full of pointy teeth opened wide. Link felt sort of a vacuum beginning to pull him in, but he was frozen in terror, he wasn't even treading water anymore. He watched helplessly as Navi, being smaller than him, went first. He couldn't breathe.  
  
Nor could he scream as he plunged into Jabu Jabu's mouth. As Link saw the last light of day, it began to rain.  
  
It began to rain....  
  
* * *  
  
It began to rain as Ganondorf paced around his room, thinking.  
  
I, he thought, am destined for a Triforce piece. But, I need the other two pieces. One simply is not enough. I'll need Courage and Wisdom, naturally, since I am the most powerful being in Hyrule, and I have Power. Ganondorf laughed with glee.  
  
He took off his cape, and strode over to the other end of his room to a small black bowl. He put some powder in it, and lit it afire. The smoke twisted and curled as he said, "Show me the boy."  
  
The smoke obeyed his whims, pulling and pushing, twisting into bizarre shapes to form a young boy. The boy. He was lying down, apparently knocked out. "Well, that's good. Where is he?" Again, the smoked curled, this time to reveal the form of the fish. "He's been eaten alive!" Ganondorf cackled. Then he frowned. "That boy better get out of there," he growled. "I need those stones." He dripped water into the bowl to stop the smoke. "Such a troublesome child," he muttered. "I should have killed him ten years ago, instead of wasting time on his parents."  
  
Then Ganondorf had an idea. He went back to the bowl and burned more powder. "Show me the destined for the Triforce of Courage, and for the Triforce of Wisdom."  
  
The smoke took longer than usual to obey, but it twisted once more, forming unruly hair, and a hat. A sword and shield....  
  
"I'll be dammed," Ganondorf exclaimed. "It's him!" It was the boy again.  
  
"Who else?" he demanded of the smoke.  
  
The smoke formed two lovely eyes, and the small nose of a child. "I'll be dammed again! Zelda!" His eyes narrowed. "All I need to do now is wait until the right moment," he muttered. "Then I can attack the castle, kill both of them at once. The Triforce will be mine!"  
  
"But no," he said. "I don't have the Triforce. I am only destined for it. I need him to lead me to it. He'll do my dirty work. He can get the stones. I'll attack the castle, then I'll follow him right to the hidden Temple of Time, watch the foolish brat pull the sword, and steal the Triforce! It's too perfect!"  
  
"No, then he'll live. According to the legends, he'll come back, defeat me. I'll lose to a ten year old." He barked at the smoke, "Tell me how to fix this!"  
  
The smoked curled, twisting into the bizarre shapes again, until he could see something, a drawbridge. The boy, falling down, dying. "Kill him, I know," Ganondorf said impatiently. But then how will I find the Temple of Time? Where is it?"  
  
His eyes widened as he saw what the smoke revealed to him.  
  
"Very well," he whispered. "Then it is done. The Triforce is as good as mine."  
  
* * *  
  
Link was standing in Hyrule Field, with Navi. She didn't say anything, it was almost as if she couldn't see him. It was raining. He walked toward the drawbridge and thoughts and memories exploded inside of him....  
  
It's raining. I don't like rain. The drawbridge...it's open. No, this isn't right, he's going to find her, I have to save her, but then he'll kill me...oh, Goddesses, here he comes. No, this wasn't way it was supposed to happen, he's holding out his hand out; this is it. I'm sorry, I tried to protect her. Will he go for the Inn after I'm gone? It hurts, I can't breathe, I can't move, I can't think, I'm dying—  
  
Link awoke with a cry of terror. He couldn't tell if he had been sweating or not because he was soaking wet. The details were once again slipping away...the word Navi tried to work its way through his lips, but all he got was a soft moan.  
  
Where am I? Link thought. Navi answered him, knowing he wasn't awake enough to speak yet. "Don't you remember what happened? We were swimming, Jabu Jabu came at us. We're inside him now. He ate us."  
  
Link sat up a little too quickly and his head started to throb. "It's dark," he muttered slowly, stumbling over his words.  
  
"I know. Do you have any Deku Nuts? If you do, I might be able to fix it." Her voice was calm and quiet, almost soothing, something unusual for her.  
  
"Just...a few...."  
  
Navi flew inside of one, and took out some of the juice from the inside. "I have to wait for that to dry out," she explained. "Why don't you tell me what you were dreaming about? You've been acting funny all day. You zoned out this morning, then awhile ago in the domain, and now you had a dream that made you wake up screaming."  
  
"I...I wasn't even screaming, you've got it all wrong."  
  
"Don't try and change the subject," she said in that same calm, quiet voice. "Please," she added gently, "Tell me what's going on." She sat on his shoulder.  
  
Link sighed, shaking her off. "It's nothing, I told you."  
  
"Fine," she told him quietly, "You can be that way if you want." She picked up the dried Deku Nut juice and blew on it. The stuff seemed to fly around the room until the whole place was lit up. "Now," Navi said, and Link was relieved to hear the old authoritative, commanding tone that she usually had return, "We can see. Rather than trying to get out of here, I think that now we're in, we ought to find Ruto." Link nodded, and stood up slowly. He wasn't hurt, but he was wet, a little cold, and still shaky from being knocked out. He looked behind him. Teeth. It was unnerving. Not to mention creepy.  
  
"I can't believe that we're inside a fish. I can't believe he ate us and we're not dead," Link muttered.  
  
"Well," Navi replied cynically, "Get used to it." Link walked away from the teeth and further into the fish. "You don't happen to know your way around a fish, do you?" Link said. Navi shook her head. The throat didn't get darker because of Navi's spell, but it was still creepy. He could hear the slow breathing and the heartbeat of the fish. It was deathly quiet.  
  
"Link, I don't like this."  
  
"I don't either."  
  
"I don't either."  
  
"...Navi, was that you?"  
  
"No, was it you?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Then who...."  
  
"Me!"  
  
"Huh?" Link turned around. Someone had been following them, a Zora girl about his age. This had to be Ruto.  
  
"Are you Princess Ruto?"  
  
"Yes. Were...were you sent to look for me?"  
  
"Yes, my name is Link. We gotta get outta here, we're not too far from the mouth, let's go."  
  
"N-no!"  
  
"Huh? Why not?"  
  
"I...lost something. I have to find it."  
  
"What did you lose?"  
  
"My...my mother's sapphire. She gave it to me before she died, it's very special to me." She blushed. "I'm supposed to give it to the man who will marry me one day," Ruto told him, batting her eyelashes.  
  
Link rolled his eyes and almost groaned out loud. Not only did she lose the stone and wouldn't leave without it, she had a crush on him! "I'll help you look for it, if I can borrow it for a little while."  
  
"Borrow it?"  
  
"Yeah, it's hard to explain. I need it to get rid of Ganond—"  
  
"Don't you speak his name to me! This is his fault!" Ruto looked close to tears now. Sinking down against the wall, she buried her face in her webbed hands. Navi flew over to her and sat on her shoulder. "What happened?" she asked.  
  
"Th-that man came here, and he tried to...to marry me! And he's awful! He has red eyes, and when he looks at you it's just awful. And cold. He wanted the stone too. And now he put a curse on Lord Jabu Jabu, so that he ate me, and ate you too! He'll eat anything now, if it moves. And it's all that man's fault!" She burst into tears. "It's b-been so dark, and so...s-so scary...b-but I h-had to f-find the stone! And then it lit up, and I tried to follow you! But I have to find it so he won't get it, or he can marry me, and have his way with me, and I h-h-hate him!"  
  
Link walked over to her cautiously. "C'mon...don't do that...it isn't dark anymore, and I'll help you find your stone...I want to borrow it, so he'll never bother you again, I can get rid of him...." Link felt truly sorry for her. He had never seen someone so upset in his life, except maybe Saria or himself. He patted her very awkwardly on her back. He hoped this wasn't helping her crush along.  
  
Ruto looked up, her eyes red and puffy from crying. "Do you mean that?" she asked, not waiting for an answer. "Oh thank you!" She jumped up and hugged him hard. Link's eyes widened, and he tried to push her away without upsetting her. "Uh...Princess...you're strangling me...."  
  
Ruto let go. "Sorry. And just call me Ruto, everyone does."  
  
"Okay. So, where'd you lose your stone at?"  
  
"I don't know. I was in his stomach when I woke up, and I felt my way back here. Thank Nayru I woke up when I did, or I'd be dead." She shuddered. "There were...things all over me. It hurt so bad, that's why I woke up."  
  
"Well," said Navi, "We'd better go to his stomach, then. I'm Navi, by the way."  
  
"Oh. Nice to meet you."  
  
They continued idle conversation until they reached the back of Jabu Jabu's throat. There was a hole there, and even though it didn't lead straight down, it was steep. "How did you climb up that?" Link asked, in awe.  
  
"I used the taste buds as foot holds."  
  
"Oh." Link grabbed Navi and put her safely under his hat. "I'm going down first to make sure it's safe," he explained to Ruto. "There could be things down there, and this is kinda steep." He took off his shield and sat on it like a sleigh. "Gimme a shove, Ruto."  
  
She frowned. "Say please."  
  
Link rolled his eyes and turned around. "Oh, c'mon—" Navi yanked his hair from underneath his hat, cutting off his sentence. "Fine," Link said. "Plea—whoa!"  
  
Ruto had pushed him hard, and he went down the slope fast. Surprisingly, there was water at the bottom, just deep enough so that he had to tread. Link hit the water with a splash and went under for several seconds before his head popped up near his shield and he could grab onto it to catch his breath. Something hit Link on the back of the head then. A rock. Balancing himself so he floated on his wooden shield and didn't have to tread, Link looked around for the source of the disturbance. Another rock flew at him, and he ducked., sucking in his breath. Link grabbed his shield and swam to the tongue and did as Ruto had done: grabbed onto the taste buds. He had a better view, and looked around again for the thing that was shooting at him.  
  
Link saw the Octork in a flash of purple. Its rubbery skin glistened in the water as it dived back down for defense. When it came up to shoot another rock, Link held up shield just as he had done with the Deku Scrubs. The rock flew through the air and landed with a thud on the Octork's head.  
  
"It's safe," Navi called to Ruto. "Link, toss her your shield." Link did so, and she pushed herself off and landed with a splash as well. They both started swimming forward, but very soon, the water was shallow enough so that they could walk. After a while, Ruto began asking questions.  
  
"So, how can you get rid of him with my mother's stone? Is he why you ended up in here with me? Why does he want my mother's stone anyway?"  
  
"Whoa, slow down. See, it's sorta a long, uh, complicated, story...."  
  
And Link told her the story, from start to finish, how he battled inside the Deku Tree, how he climbed Death Mountain twice and spent the night in a grave, how he made his way up the river so he could get the last stone, leaving out only the part about his dreams, and the pieces about the Inn because he thought she'd find it boring, and he wanted to keep her occupied, mostly so she wouldn't have time to flirt with him anymore.  
  
At one point, when Link was talking about the ranch, Ruto asked, "Do you like this Malon girl?" Navi had started laughing, and they had both teased Link for ten minutes straight, watching his neck turn red. They were almost to the main chamber of Jabu Jabu's stomach when Ruto grasped her head and moaned. "What's wrong?" Link asked. "What is it?"  
  
"Oh, it's nothing," she replied, shaking it off and waving a webbed hand at him. "It's just that when Zoras get severe, short, headaches like that, it means it's going to rain." Navi glanced sharply at Link, who was still walking normally, but his eyes now had a glazed look. Trying to pick up on his thoughts, Navi saw a black horse, and rain pouring down in buckets, before Link snapped back to reality and said to Ruto, "I didn't know that, I thought something was wrong." He sounded slightly dazed.  
  
Navi stopped reading his thoughts then, just in time for Link to think about how annoyed he was getting with zoning out of the real world. She frowned, trying to figure out what was going on, but Ruto just kept babbling. "Oh no, nothing was wrong, Zoras are just really in tune with the weather, y'kno—" Ruto stopped in midsentence and shrieked.  
  
"My stone!" she cried. Link stared as she ran to a small spot of blue that was nearly hidden, covered in debris. He noticed the pile of junk seemed to be shaking, but then he couldn't be sure. All of the sudden, his senses were screaming at him that something was wrong, and he watched as Ruto fell into the small pile of junk as if there were a hole below it. His eyes widened and he ran to the pile.  
  
Then he scrambled backwards as the junk exploded in his face, and out of the hole beneath it came a monster.  
  
It had the face of an Octork, but it was much bigger. It stood about ten feet above Link, and its eyes glowed yellow. Its skin was baggy and wet, and hung in slimy folds over its body. "Bigocto," Navi muttered without thinking. Link looked from the creature to the hole behind it where both the stone and Ruto had fallen. Navi could tell what he was thinking without reading his mind. "Go for the hole," she told him as he jumped out the way to avoid being trampled by the creature, which was racing toward him like a bullet.  
  
He was in between the creature and the hole now, and Link saw his chance. Not taking his eyes off of the creature, and, shockingly, feeling no fear, he jumped backwards into the blackness below.  
  
* * *  
  
"Ruto? Where are you? Hello?"  
  
"I don't think she's here, Link."  
  
"Dammit."  
  
"Watch your mouth!"  
  
Link turned around to glare at Navi. "We have to find her. I'm dead if I don't get her back in one piece, y'know."  
  
"Whatever... Where did you learn to swear, anyway?"  
  
Link gave a short laugh, but he didn't really sound happy about it. "What, after all those names Mido and his gang called me, you thought I wouldn't pick up any of it?"  
  
"Oh, right...point there...." Navi felt stupid for reminding him about that. I should try a little tact, she thought harshly.  
  
Link reached down for his sword and shield, which had fallen off during the fall. Navi's light spell had left a little light where they were, enough to see, and her glow made it even easier to find their way around. "Tact won't help, not really," Link said softly without realizing what he was doing, "It's on my mind a lot anyw—" Link broke off.  
  
"How did I do that?"  
  
"Good question! That's supposed to be an advantage of mine."  
  
"Ohhh, no, this is payback."  
  
Navi groaned. She didn't understand how or why he had done that, but she'd have to be careful from now on. Just to test him, she thought, I guess we both have an advantage now, though, since we finally made a telepathic link. Link looked over at her and raised an eyebrow, saying out loud, "Just because we can doesn't mean we have to. I like talking out loud better."  
  
"You would!"  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"I think you can figure it out...look over there."  
  
Navi flew forward and fluttered near the ground so Link could see what she was talking about. There were holes in the floor, in the stomach of the massive fish. Link was glad she had pointed them out, because someone who didn't have a light might have fallen right through.  
  
The thought hit him like a ton of bricks. "Ruto!"  
  
Navi knew what he meant. She groaned. "I hope she's okay. Link, we have to go down and find her."  
  
"No way."  
  
"Yes way! If we don't find her we can't get the stone, and if we can't get the stone, we'll never get rid of Ganon, and if we never get rid of Ganon, the world is doomed...." Navi's eyes widened behind the light surrounding her body and choked out, "Which won't really matter anyway, because if you don't move those things behind you are going to eat you for lunch!"  
  
Link yelped and spun around to see three or four creatures floating in the air around him. Then he heard Navi's thoughts again, even though he was sure she hadn't sent them to him on purpose. Those are Biri, I think...oh, Goddesses, we are dead. "Link," she said out loud, "Those are—"  
  
"Biri. And oh, Goddesses, we are dead. Don't you have any faith in me, Navi?" Link taunted as he rolled his eyes and got into battle stance. "I can make these things can go poof with my sword."  
  
"You idiot, they're crackling with electricity, can't you see that? Don't attack them! Unless, of course, you want to feel like you were struck by lightning, in that case, go right ahead."  
  
"Okay, genius, what do you recommend doing?"  
  
"Jumping down the hole."  
  
"I'm getting tired of going down holes!" Link said as the Biri got closer to him. "How're we gonna get back up?"  
  
"That doesn't matter now! Just jump!"  
  
Link looked at the hole and back to the approaching Biri. Then he sighed and jumped.  
  
Link hadn't expected for the fall to be very long considering the other one wasn't far at all. He had expected it to be short with minor pain when he hit the bottom, but not enough to stop him from getting right back up and continuing the hopeless search for Ruto and the stone.  
  
He was wrong.  
  
The fall seemed to take forever and just a few seconds at the same time, Either way, Link had long enough to pray that there would be something to break the fall.  
  
There was. He landed with a splash at the bottom of the pit, losing both his sword and shield.  
  
"Who's there?" The voice of Ruto echoed across the now dark room. Link, who was still under water, could barely manage to swim to the surface through all of the bubbles. He tried to talk when he reached the surface, but just ended up coughing and sputtering.  
  
Where is she? Link thought blindly to Navi. Before she could answer, he started to sink back under, not being able to catch his breath or swim because of his coughing. Just when he started seeing spots in front of his eyes from lack of air, a pair of arms grabbed him and started pulling him upwards.  
  
"Are you okay?" Ruto asked him. Link nodded, not trusting his voice yet. He was afraid that if he talked, he would start coughing again. There was no place to stand, the water was too deep. They treaded for awhile until Link caught his breath. "Now what?" he gasped. Ruto shook her head.  
  
"I don't know, but we have to find the stone. We have to have it to get out."  
  
Even Navi was puzzled at this. "What?" she asked along with Link. Ruto had to laugh at the two of them staring at her with baffled expressions.  
  
"I said," she repeated, "We need it to get out."  
  
"How does that work?"  
  
"If you'd shutup, Link, I'm sure she's about to tell us."  
  
"Well, any being that can use magic can power up the stones. Obviously Link doesn't know magic, and I don't either, I'm not old enough." Ruto turned to look at Navi. "But you—you made this place light up, you—"  
  
"Can do a little magic, yes. How does it work?"  
  
"If you'd shutup, Navi, I'm sure she's about to tell us," Link mimicked innocently.  
  
"Well, you're supposed to touch the stone and tell it what to do, I guess. I've seen it done a couple of times, but never done it. I have no idea how magic works. This is the Spiritual Stone of Water, o it controls water. It can make a jet of water to take us up out of here."  
  
"But then...what would the other stones do? I mean, Link has two of them already, remember?"  
  
"What? Link, you have the ability to control fire and nature!"  
  
"I wish I had known that sooner, woulda been a big help."  
  
"Link, just shutup a minute so I can think. I need to concentrate."  
  
"You need more than that," Link quipped. Navi growled, but said, "If the Sapphire manipulates water, then I guess the Ruby can do the same with fire, and the Emerald with plants. Link, hold out the Ruby for a sec."  
  
Link obeyed, a little surprised at how it seemed to glow a little. It felt warm in his hands, something he hadn't noticed before. Navi landed on the stone, and said to Link, "Aim it up, I don't want to hit either of you by mistake."  
  
"Hit us? Navi, what're you gonna d—"  
  
"Pyroga!"  
  
A ball about the size of a human head and made of fire shot upwards toward the top where Link had fallen through to the water from the stone in his hand. Link felt the pressure of the blast, it pushed back at him a good bit. They saw it light up the walls around them, and hit the side of the stomach. Jabu Jabu was squirming around audibly, but when the noise died down, Link broke the silence with, "What in the hell was that?"  
  
Ruto didn't say anything, she was just staring up at the top of the pit, her mouth open. Even Navi was fairly shocked. "Wow," she said. "And think, it'd be even more effective if we were back at Death Mountain. Too bad I can't think of the spell for the Emerald. Keep those around, Link, we might need them."  
  
"No kidding."  
  
"Well, we'd better find my stone or we'll never get out of here," Ruto said to the top of the pit.  
  
"She's right, Link."  
  
"We're never gonna get outta here anyway, there's nowhere to stand. We'll just stay here swimming until we get too tired. There's no way we can get out of here. This really stinks, I'm gonna die at age ten and I'm supposed to never grow up." His voice sounded dark and tired. What was worse, Navi knew he was right, except for the part about never growing up. She blocked out her thoughts about that because she knew he might be reading her mind. Navi closed her eyes. She felt it, he'd given up. There was no way out.  
  
No, she thought, no, there has to be a way, because we're in his stomach, it can't end here, all food has to go somewhere...doesn't it? Ruto...must have woken up where the holes are, she doesn't know how to get out either...the food, where would it go?  
  
"Down," supplied Link dryly. Navi jumped, she hadn't been expecting that one.  
  
"What's down?" Ruto asked.  
  
"We can find out. Link, stay here, I'll be the light and Ruto can swim around to look for a way out underwater."  
  
"I'm not staying here! You have no idea what's down there, and let me remind you I'm the one with the sword."  
  
"Fine, but you have to come up if you need air."  
  
"So do you."  
  
"I'm a fairy, I can hold my breath twice as long as you can!"  
  
"Wanna bet?"  
  
"Would you two cut it out?" Ruto griped.  
  
"Cut what out?" Link asked innocently.  
  
"Ugh. C'mon, let's just go."  
  
They took deep breaths and dived under the water. It was a long way to the bottom, and it took a few seconds to get there. Navi and Ruto scanned the ground looking for anything, while Link kept lookout for anything that might decide to attack them. They had to come up for air several times, and they still didn't find anything. Link sighed as they treaded water wearily. He knew it wouldn't be long now.  
  
And then it hit him like lightning: He wasn't going to die here, according to the dream he had, he was going to die in the rain, that meant outside. The thought wasn't at all happy, but it was better than becoming fish food.  
  
"There is a way out. We just have to find it."  
  
"Link, I admire your determination, but...there's no way out, you were right. We can't...I mean...."  
  
"No, I know—" Link stopped. He wanted to explain how he knew, but with Ruto there it would just get messed up, and this wasn't something he felt like doing in telepathy. He sighed.  
  
"I'm going back down there, we didn't get all the way to the bottom near the middle."  
  
"Because we didn't have enough air!"  
  
"I gotta try. Don't follow me."  
  
"You're nuts. I have to follow you, I'm the light."  
  
Link dived down and disappeared beneath the depths of the pool they were in, before she could find him. She and Ruto began to panic. True, Link could hold his breath for a long time, but what if he didn't come back up? Ruto tried to look with Navi as a light, but they couldn't get to the bottom where Link supposedly was. They searched frantically for almost a minute, until Navi let a tear slide down her cheek in a helpless defeat.  
  
"He's gone," she whispered. "It's over."  
  
* * *  
  
Ruto buried her face in her webbed hands, still kicking her feet to stay above water. "H-he was first, we...we're next, what are we going to do?"  
  
Navi started crying too. She had always argued with Link, but really, he was a good person. She felt awful that he died without ever knowing...well, at least he was with his parents now. Oh, what would she tell Johan? If they ever got out, how could she go back and face him? She could fly out, but she wasn't going to leave Ruto.  
  
"Maybe he's still down there," Ruto said.  
  
"No...he's not, he couldn't have made it this long." Navi wiped her eyes. "Oh, Link, I'm so sorry...."  
  
"Sorry for what? Geez, you're acting like I'm dead or something!"  
  
"L-Link!" Navi flew over to him and spun circles around his head. Ruto looked up and started laughing.  
  
"You don't have any faith in me!" Link said indignantly. Then he grinned. "Guess what?"  
  
"You didn't find a way out?"  
  
"Nope, but I did find this." Link brought his hand up from the water to reveal a long yellow boomerang made of wood, embedded with jewels and gold. Ruto's eyes widened when she saw it.  
  
"That was lost a long time ago, it's a Zoran treasure. They used replicas of it years ago in the times of the Wars and centuries before that to protect themselves. This must be where the original went." She sounded as if she was quoting a textbook.  
  
"But will it work with all that stuff on it?" Navi asked.  
  
"Sure it will! As long as Link has a strong arm."  
  
They both stared at him.  
  
"Stop looking at me like that! I'll get it eventually...I always do," he added cheerfully. "Just gotta figure out how to use it, right?"  
  
In about twenty minutes Link had managed to nearly hit all of them at least twice, but he had also managed to learn how to use the boomerang, to an extent. It was harder because his feet were busy treading water, but he could still throw it and sometimes catch it.  
  
"Now," said Link, "We gotta figure out how to use it to get outta here. Navi," he ordered, "Fly up to the ceiling, tell me what you see."  
  
"Okay."  
  
When Navi came back down, she explained the situation to Link. "There's something up there, it looks like if you hit it, he'd cough, I tickled it sort of and he wheezed. I'm not strong enough to hit it, since I'm three inches high—"  
  
"Two inches!"  
  
"Three!"  
  
"Cut it out, you two. Navi, fly back up there so he can see where he's aiming. There. Link, is that too high for you to reach with the boomerang?"  
  
"Won't know till I try...listen, I hate to ask this, but can I stand on your shoulders for a sec?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Please? I can't throw if I'm too busy treading."  
  
"Oh, fine."  
  
Ruto dove under the water, and came up supporting Link on her shoulders. "Hurry, this hurts!" she gasped. Link aimed, drew back his arm, and threw right as Ruto collapsed.  
  
"Are you okay?"  
  
"I think so. Did it reach the—"  
  
Ruto's question was interrupted by a loud rumbling above them. The whole fish began to shake violently, and the boomerang dropped down in front of him. He grabbed it just before debris began raining down on them. Link looked up, searching for Navi. There was so much stuff falling, and she was only two inches high.... He worried for a few seconds until he remembered their link.  
  
Navi, he thought frantically, feeling stupid, are you okay? Where are you? What's going on up there?  
  
I'm fine, came the reply. I was right, he coughed, and it's raining junk. I'm hoping it'll be enough to help us get to a platform I can see from here. There's an opening, we really can get out. How did you...?  
  
Link didn't answer. Instead he grabbed Ruto by the arm and ducked under the water to his right, barely avoiding being hit on the head by the final pieces of debris.  
  
When the junk had settled, Navi flew back down to inspect it. "It's okay!" she yelled. "There's a path, we can get out!"  
  
Link and Ruto slapped five and swam over to the junk piling up to the platform. It was wet, slimy, and slick. They hiked it like it was a landform, Ruto slipping occasionally, sometimes on purpose, so Link would help her up. When they got to the platform, they came upon another obstacle. Some of the junk had fallen over the opening where they were supposed to be able to crawl through to find an exit. Ruto plopped down to the floor in despair, but Link grinned at Navi, who he knew was grinning back, despite the light around her.  
  
"Stand back, Ruto."  
  
She looked up, puzzled. Link glanced at her while rummaging through his water logged pockets. "Really," he said. "You wanna move." He found what he was looking for and held it up to his face, looking at it. "I hope it still works, it's all wet."  
  
"Oh don't worry about it, if it doesn't I'll use Pyroga again."  
  
Ruto backed out of the way, wondering what Link was about to do, and Navi followed her. A moment later a boom echoed inside of Jabu Jabu as Link threw a bomb at the piece of moldy wood. Link kicked the remains out of the way.  
  
He smiled innocently at Navi. "Ladies first." She rolled her eyes at him and proceeded to enter the tunnel. With grudging respect, Link followed her. He'd expected her to refuse.  
  
They crawled through the tunnel, which led up, to Link's relief. They came out in a circular room about three stories high, with water in the bottom level. "Wow," Link said as he stood up. "This is once helluva big fish!"  
  
"Link!" Ruto and Navi chided him at the same time.  
  
"Women!" Link muttered.  
  
Navi buzzed at him. "I heard that!"  
  
"Oh, lemme alone, both of you."  
  
Ruto looked down at the water. "We could go there," she suggested. Link snorted.  
  
"There's no way you're dragging me down into s'more water. Sorry, you can forget that."  
  
"Then where do you suggest we go, genius?" Ruto snapped.  
  
"Up!"  
  
Link climbed a nearby ladder, or what looked like the remains of a ladder, to reach another tunnel above him. This one he entered without hesitation, not waiting for his companions to come after him. When he didn't hear them follow, he shouted at them, "C'mon, I'm the one with the sword and I'm going first! How chicken can you be not to follow me?"  
  
That did it for Navi, and Ruto, not wanting to be alone, went in after her. This tunnel dipped downwards, but only slightly, and it wasn't very long. When the got to the other side, there was a three way path. The one to the far left was clear; Link could see the beginning of another tunnel, just large enough so that they could enter without having to crouch.  
  
The other pathways, however, were not. The one in the middle had a huge red slimy thing blocking it so that Link couldn't get by. Not even Navi wanted to try, because even though she was small, there were what looked like electric waves coming off of the slimy thing's surface. Another one was blocking the path to the far right, only it was blue.  
  
Link stared. "Y'know, it's a tough decision, but maybe we should go left?"  
  
"Yeah, that'd work." Navi flew over to the tunnel. "Who's going first?"  
  
Link and Ruto pointed at each other at the same time, then glared.  
  
"You've got the sword!"  
  
"So?"  
  
Ruto huffed, but went in. "This whole place is disgusting."  
  
Link couldn't agree more. The walls were pink and slimy, like the floor, and the purple veins that creeped along the walls almost moved by themselves. Link could hear Jabu Jabu's slow breathing, and his pulse. The floor and walls vibrated with every one of his motions.  
  
"It's creepy in here," Ruto echoed his thoughts exactly as the reached the end of the tunnel and stood up in a large, round, room with a squishy floor. She walked into the center of the room, looking around. Navi flew behind her.  
  
"There's nothing here," Navi said dejectedly, perching on Ruto's shoulder. Link stared around distractedly.  
  
"But there is," he murmured, more to himself than Navi, who was now hovering around Ruto's head. Upon hearing Link speak, Navi flew over to him, and sat on his shoulder.  
  
"What'd you say? I couldn't hear you."  
  
Link shook his head, then continued to stare around at the walls and ceiling as if looking for something small and easy to miss. "I dunno," he muttered. "I just have this really weird feeling, like...like there's something else here, or..." Link broke off, looking tense.  
  
"Link?" Ruto asked. She turned her head to look at him, and Navi got to her feet, still on his shoulder.  
  
"Be quiet!" Link hissed at them. He had just heard something above them, and something, the same something that told him they weren't alone in the room, told him that it was just above their heads, and it wanted to harm them, and it was a force that could easily do so. He didn't dare move his head to look up.  
  
"Don't move," he muttered, and he began inching his arm toward his back...if he could just reach his sword...his fingers closed around the cool, slightly damp metal, and he eased it out, hardly making a sound. When he finally had it in his hands, he dared to look up, but all he could see was darkness.  
  
"It's so quiet," Ruto whispered. Link shot her a warning look.  
  
It was true, however; all movement seemed to have ceased in the few painfully long seconds when Link had been reaching for his sword. Even Jabu Jabu's heartbeat and breathing had gotten so quiet Link could barely hear them.  
  
Link nerves started tingling, and again his senses screamed at him that something very bad was about to happen if it didn't prevent it right away, and as he looked at Ruto he knew it was true; he could almost see it, but that was impossible....  
  
Link's eyes widened as he saw what would happen to Ruto if she didn't get out of the way now, and he took a chance; he dropped his sword and dived at her, managing to get them both out of the way just seconds before a huge, slimy red tentacle reached down, grabbing at the thin air where Ruto had been.  
  
Ruto shrieked. Link didn't hear her, he had gotten his sword from where he'd dropped it and was ready to fight. He didn't have time to think about how he knew what was happening, how he had seen it coming before it came, but Navi, who had flown off of his shoulder when he had dived at Ruto, picked up on his confusion and made a mental note to ask him about it.  
  
Meanwhile, Link struck out with his sword, but as he did so, the tentacle moved out of the way, higher than he could reach, then tried to grab at Ruto again.  
  
Link couldn't touch it; every time he moved near it with his sword, it moved itself higher. He wasn't sure if he wanted to strike it anyway, it looked like it had electricity coming off of it, just like the red slimy thing at the forked tunnel.  
  
In the end, however much he hated to admit it, the truth was that it was Navi who told him to use the boomerang.  
  
"Stun it!" she shouted at him through the whirl of confusion. Link obediently pulled out the boomerang and took careful aim at what looked like the weakest part of the tentacle, Navi flying up to it so he could use her light to see as he had done in the pit full of water. Link drew back and threw, and the tentacle stopped moving, frozen in place wrapped around Ruto.  
  
"Not a second too soon," she said shakily as he helped her untangle herself. When she was free and out of the way, he attacked the thing with his sword. Now that it was unable to move, the tentacle was defenseless, and it took less than ten seconds for it to sink into the squishy floor. Ruto shuddered in disgust.  
  
She wordlessly entered the tunnel to crawl back to where they had been, not wanting to stay. Link started to follow, but Navi stopped him.  
  
"What was that all about?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"How did you know that thing was in here with us, about to grab Ruto?"  
  
Link shrugged. "I honestly can't tell you," he said, shaking his head. "I dunno." He described the way he had seen what was going to happen before it happened, and how he had the funny feeling of knowing something was there without sensing it physically at all. As he talked, he realized that the same thing had happened when Ruto had seen her stone in the pile of junk, and had fallen through. Link also remembered one occasion when it had happened in the forest. He was eight, and Mido and his gang had been hiding in the bushes, waiting to push him into the lake...he had almost seen himself in the water, sputtering, humiliated...but just in time he had stepped out of the way...they had fallen into the lake instead....  
  
Navi was alarmed by this. She knew what it might mean, but she desperately hoped she was wrong. She was about to start interrogating him about his weird dreams again when she heard Ruto yelling.  
  
"Hey, it's gone! Come see!"  
  
Link and Navi raced down the tunnel to see what she was talking about. When they got to the other side, the red slimy thing had gone, and the tunnel was free and clear of obstacles.  
  
"They were connected," Navi said.  
  
"Great," Link muttered. "So I have to fight another one of those things?"  
  
"Yup. C'mon, we might as well get it over with."  
  
Link entered the tunnel with a sigh, and was surprised that it didn't take him as long as he thought it would. Upon killing the blue thing, he went into the third tunnel and encountered another tentacle, a green one.  
  
This one didn't take very long to kill either, and when he was finished, Link asked, "Now what? I didn't see any doors blocked by something green."  
  
But as he spoke, the floor began to tremble.  
  
"Uh-oh," Ruto whispered, looking around as the floor began to tremble more violently. She had good reason to be worried, for it was starting to give way; the squishy floor went first, and before Link and Ruto could run for the tunnel, Navi hot on their heels, they had nothing under them, and they were pitched down mercilessly into yet another dark hole.  
  
They landed with a splash, but they weren't trapped. They had, in fact, landed in a pool with a very deep center, but the banks were just shallow enough so they could stand, and when they had caught their breath they raced for something solid to stand on.  
  
Link was facing Ruto, and Navi was sitting on his head, having flown down more slowly to avoid being drenched.  
  
The last thing Link could remember was a huge shadow coming up behind him, and a look of pure terror on Ruto's face.  
  
Then a sharp pain on the back of his head.  
  
Then nothing.  
  
* * *  
  
A Gerudo woman just outside of the drawbridge jumped off the back of a horse, one she had "borrowed" from Lon Lon Ranch some time ago. She was dressed in typical pink Gerudo clothing, wearing her mask and bangles, carrying her swords. She hoped desperately that this would help her to blend in with the crowd, hoped that none of the other Gerudo women coming in and out of the Market would notice who she was. She had to pull this off unseen and unrecognized, by everyone except who she was looking for.  
  
She walked to the nearest Gerudo she could see and greeted them gruffly. After a few moments idle conversation, she asked where a person might find cheap lodgings around this place, other than the usual inns. She was referred to several places and people, but none of them had what she was looking for.  
  
Or rather, who she was looking for.  
  
She considered herself lucky; most Hylians couldn't tell one Gerudo from another, especially with masks on, and the Gerudo couldn't tell so long as no one had any reason to give her a second thought. But by midday, she had nearly given up. The person she was looking for obviously wasn't here.  
  
But there's nowhere else person could stay, not here, anyway, she thought. She'd been referred to one more place, and only pure stubbornness made her want to go look. She didn't think she'd find anything. However, as she was walking down the deserted alley on her way out, she stopped at a grubby, barely noticeable door, the last place she'd think to look, and knocked. No one answered.  
  
She knocked more loudly. When there was no reply, she looked in the window. There was nothing but crates. How can they call this an inn? It's just a pile of junk, she thought irritably. But some unknown instinct made her want to open the door uninvited, and go in. She trusted her instincts, because of her Gerudo training, so, trying to look as if she owned the place, she waltzed right in.  
  
She walked in slowly, looking around at the old boxes and pots, wondering what on earth she was doing here. She thought she heard a sound from below, but she paid it no attention; the Market was bustling with noise, she'd probably heard it from outside. She turned to leave, and she heard it again.  
  
That was not coming from outside.  
  
The thief turned around and began to move boxes around again. There was a room under here, she was sure of it. Maybe she had to go down a trap door...she went over to the wall, and moved one of the larger, heavier crates to see if there was anything underneath.  
  
There wasn't.  
  
She gasped as she looked up from the floor and saw a hole in the wall, with stairs leading down. Is she here? She has to be, I don't know where else to look, the Gerudo thought. She crept silently down the stairs, and the voices grew nearer. She stopped at the last stair, straining to hear the conversation, in case this was the wrong place. She could not risk having her identity known.  
  
* * *  
  
"Johan," Kylia said. "I'm worried. Things are starting to happen, I don't like it. Link's is in just as much danger as I am. Ganon doesn't...show mercy. And he's only biding his time until he attacks Hyrule again."  
  
"Link will be fine. He's...well, just look at what he's done, and he's only ten. You need to quit worrying," said Johan. He stood up from the fluffy armchair and went into the kitchen to get some coffee.  
  
"Why?" She followed him, and stood there silently, waiting for his answer. There was none. Johan went back into the main room, sipping his hot coffee carefully. When she realized that he wasn't going to answer, Kylia spoke again.  
  
"You're worrying too. You're worried sick."  
  
"I am worried. For both of you. What if some of those Gerudo women come back looking for you? They'll find this place eventually. I wish you had told me sooner that they wanted to kill you instead of throw you out. I was an idiot not to figure it out myself. You never wanted to go outside..."  
  
"I didn't want you to worry," Kylia said wryly. "Besides, I can fight as good as any of them, better, even. I won't let them touch this place. It's more of a home to me than Gerudo Valley ever was."  
  
Johan set his mug down on the table a little harder than he meant to. "You can't fight all of them at once!" He was touched by the fact that she considered this shabby place a home, but he had to make her see sense. "I know you're good, but you're not that good, Kylia. Besides, fighting only—"  
  
Johan broke off in shock as a Gerudo woman wearing pink clothing barged in. Her face was masked, and like Kylia, she had pulled her red hair away from her face in a ponytail, only hers wasn't braided. She had bangles on her wrists, and hand-maracas much like the ones Kylia owned strapped to her palms.  
  
Kylia stood up at once, and drew out a very long dagger from her belt. The handle was silver and had one diamond on each side. She wished desperately that she had her swords, but they were in her room, down the hall. Johan stood up after Kylia did, a little more slowly, feeling almost scared. He didn't want to have to see anymore fighting, and he didn't want to have to help her fight, but he had no choice. He couldn't let that woman go back and tell her people she knew where the "traitor" was. He didn't have any weapons on him, but his sword and shield were leaning against the wall behind the woman.  
  
"Get out of here, don't ever come back, and don't ever let me see another one of you here again," Kylia snarled. "Get out of here now, or die." Johan hadn't ever seen her look so menacing.  
  
Kylia stood there for what seemed like eternity contained in a few seconds, and to everyone's surprise, the woman pulled down her mask and spoke with a spanish accent.  
  
"Relax, girl, it's me!"  
  
Kylia opened her mouth in shock. She lowered the dagger, but still gripped it tightly. "Ani?" Kylia asked uncertainly. "Wh-what are you doing here?"  
  
"Nothing bad, I promise. I'm not here to hurt anyone."  
  
Kylia loosened her grip slightly. "What do you want? How did you find me? Why aren't you trying to..." She didn't finish the sentence.  
  
"Kylia! You're like my sister, girl, how could I come here wanting to kill you?"  
  
Kylia turned around to Johan, who was looking confused. "Johan," she said, "this is one of my best friends from the valley, Ani. Ani, this is Johan."  
  
Ani didn't seem to need further explanation. "Ah! So you're the man who doesn't act like one, eh?"  
  
Kylia and Johan both burst out laughing. Ani did too, after a minute. "Listen," she said, "I gotta talk to you, Kylia. It's important. I...I don't know if your male friend here wants to hear it or not."  
  
"Anything you have to say, you can say it in front of Johan too." Kylia put the dagger away and sat on the couch, Johan beside her, and this time Ani was in the armchair. Her expression was now very serious.  
  
"Kylia...this isn't easy, yeah? Listen, I heard your conversation, about Ganondorf...you were right, girl. He's biding his time. Getting ready to attack. He's already gotten an army together. He left the rest of us. He knows we can't function without a leader. He didn't leave anyone in charge. He wants us to wither away into nothing. But, there's some things you need to know. About...about Ganondorf. Kylia, do you remember me telling you about your mother one time? Nabooru?"  
  
"Y-yeah...." Kylia didn't like talking about her family that much. In Gerudo Valley, everyone was related to everyone else, and they were all each other's family. She remembered all too well the story of her mother.  
  
Nabooru had been second in command to Ganon when she had gotten pregnant with Kylia. After her child was born, Nabooru continued to train young Gerudo women and teach them to fight. She learned of Ganon's plots for the Wars, and begged him to stop. When begging didn't work, she had tried to force him. It didn't work. He killed her when Kylia had been a year old.  
  
The Wars had started then, and didn't stop for a long time. Kylia remembered staying at the Inn for a year, unable to get back to her people. She remembered how frightened of Johan she had been, at first, because he was male...Kylia was glad Johan knew all this, so she wouldn't have to explain....  
  
"What does my mother have to do with...with him?"  
  
Ani was silent.  
  
"Ani?"  
  
"Kylia, we need a new leader. So he won't defeat us."  
  
"I don't understand...." Kylia glanced at Johan. He was frowning with an expression of concern on his face.  
  
"Th-there's something I never told you about Nabooru, yeah? She...."  
  
"She what, Ani?" Kylia's heart was pounding.  
  
"She was in love with him." Ani spoke haltingly, as if every word was painful to speak. "And we need a new leader. By law, we need his bloodlines."  
  
Kylia still didn't understand. "What does that have to do with—"  
  
"H-he's your father."  
  
Kylia's hands flew to her mouth. "Please tell me you're kidding. Ani, that's not true, please, tell me it's not true."  
  
Ani wouldn't look at her. "It's true, girl. I'm sorry."  
  
I am not going to cry. I am not going to cry. Good or evil, Gerudo don't cry. I am not going to cry. I am not going to cry....  
  
Kylia repeated that over and over to herself, rocking back and forth in her seat until the urge passed. She took a deep breath, staring at the floor. She could feel Johan's eyes on her. Ani was looking at her too. Kylia felt unclean, as if she had some horrible sickness that she didn't want to inflict upon them. It was the same feeling she'd had when she'd first met Johan, and everyone around her viewed her as filth because of her race.  
  
She still couldn't quite believe Ani's words, even now...him, for a father? Why couldn't it have been some Hylian that took a one night stand with a pretty Gerudo like everyone else? He was horrible, he'd killed so many, and caused wars to happen....  
  
And it hit her like a ton of bricks; Ganondorf had caused the Wars ten years ago...Johan had lost his best friends there. Her...her father...had been indirectly responsible for their deaths. Would he hate her? Would he think it was her fault, somehow? Would he need someone to blame? What if he thought she was going to turn out like...like him? What if she did turn out like him? What if she killed those she was supposed to love, like he had? What if she hurt someone? Would he want to kick her out? Would he want to kick her out anyway?  
  
She bit down on her lip hard as she fought the urge to start crying again. I am not going to cry. I am not going to cry....  
  
She hated that both of them were staring at her... I am not going to cry...she wished they'd stop...I am not going to cry...look at anything but her...anything...I am not...going to cry...I am not going to cry....  
  
"Do you hate me?" Kylia whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek and landing on the floor she was staring at. She wiped it angrily away, biting down harder on her lip.  
  
"Kylia, of course not." She felt him put a hand on her shoulder, and wiped away another tear. "No matter what he did, or what he's going to do, that was him, not you. I know you, and you're a good person. You wouldn't—couldn't—hurt anyone here. Just because he's your father, that doesn't mean you're going to be like him."  
  
Kylia didn't believe him. She continued to stare at the floor. She couldn't stop her tears now.  
  
"Kylia," Johan said gently, "It doesn't matter. You won't turn out like him." He spoke slowly and clearly, so that she could not miss a word.  
  
"You are who you choose to be, you understand? You weren't raised by him. You learned what you did from other people. You made choices that set you apart from the path he took in life. The way you speak, act, think, it has nothing to do with someone who was never a part of your life. Maybe there's a such thing as destiny, maybe not, but your fate and his are entirely different, not because someone else wants it to be that way, but because you want it to be that way. You and you alone control what will happen to you; as long as you refuse to give into greed and evil, and as long as you do what is right, you will always be different from him, in every sense that there is."  
  
The meaning of his words was not only comforting, but it was true. It did not just make sense; it meant something powerful, something that could not be changed. But still....  
  
"He's right, girl," Ani said quietly, breaking the silence. Kylia started; she'd forgotten Ani was there.  
  
"We wouldn't want you to be our leader if we thought you were going to be like him, yeah? We don't care."  
  
"I care."  
  
"We're going to fight him! He left us, and most everyone back home, we've seen the light. We...we want to save Hyrule." Her voice grew stronger. "We, and I mean everyone, we are tired of being prosecuted, we are tired of being judged for our race, we are tired of being the ones who everyone hate and fear. We all want to do something right for a change. We all want to use our skills to get that worthless jackass back for the things he's done, not just to us, but to everyone!"  
  
"Ani!" Kylia looked up at last, startled. She hadn't ever heard Ani talk like that before.  
  
Ani held up a hand. "No. Listen to me, girl. We're turning around. We fight alongside anyone who opposes Ganondorf, man or not. You have natural talent—"  
  
"Talent? If that talent comes from him, then you can forget it—"  
  
"Him!" Ani snorted in distaste. "It comes from Nabooru! She was twice the warrior he'll ever be!"  
  
That got a smile from Kylia. Johan, who had been quiet until now, spoke.  
  
"Are you going to do it, Kylia?"  
  
Kylia stood up abruptly and walked to the other side of the room, facing away from them. She bit down on her lip harder than ever. Now that she had stopped crying, she wasn't going to start again. She closed her eyes. Doing this would mean a lot of work, and accepting the harsh reality of who she was, of what was happening to Hyrule. Not to mention leaving the Inn, the place she had come to regard as home. She wanted more than anything to be able to prove she wasn't going to be like...like her father. She had fleeting memories of him, and wondered if he knew who she was. She could go, and fight. It wouldn't be easy. But it was the right thing to do.  
  
But suppose she didn't go. She didn't want to go. The Gerudo women might be able to take care of themselves. But they might not. They might fail, and it would be her fault, because she didn't prevent it....  
  
Was this fate? Had her life come to rest upon this ultimate decision? Or was there more to it than that?  
  
A man on a black horse was spitting on the dry sand at her feet when she was nine...she was six years old, hiding in a cold alleyway, praying to the goddesses that no man would find her...then she was thirteen, being punished with solitary confinement for questioning the authority of a man with red eyes...at sixteen, getting kicked out of Gerudo Valley by the man who was supposed to be her father...who had killed her mother...and so many more....  
  
You are who you choose to be. You and you alone control what will happen to you; as long as you refuse to give into greed and evil, and as long as you do what is right, you will always be different from him, in every sense that there is.  
  
Kylia stood facing the wall for a very long time before making her decision. She hoped that this was the right thing to do....  
  
"Go on, Ani. Get out of here."  
  
"What?" Ani stood up as quickly as Kylia had, not believing her ears. Kylia wasn't going to help them?  
  
"I said go on."  
  
"But, Kylia—"  
  
You are who you choose to be.  
  
Kylia took a deep breath and shut her eyes tightly. "I'll be there in a minute."  
  
Relief washed over Ani. She looked at Johan, who was smiling, though it wasn't anything close to happy.  
  
"I just want one thing understood, Ani," Kylia said, still facing the wall.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I am not his daughter. I am Nabooru's daughter. That's who I choose to be."  
  
It was Ani's turn to fight tears. She nodded, and said hoarsely, "Thank you, girl." She walked up the stairs to go back to her horse, pulling up her mask as she went. Perhaps she could "find" another horse for Kylia while she was waiting....  
  
Kylia waited until Ani's footsteps faded away, then turned around to Johan. Words failed her. How were you supposed to say goodbye to one of your best friends?  
  
"You're making the right choice," Johan said, his voice sounding as hoarse as Ani's had. "But I'm going to miss you."  
  
"Oh, Johan, I'm gonna miss you, too." Kylia bit down hard on her lip. A lump was forming in her throat. "I'm so sorry things have to be like this."  
  
"Me too."  
  
"Listen, I want you to keep this." She reached for her belt and drew out the dagger she had pulled on Ani. "For emergencies, right? And so you won't forget me. You're like my brother, or a father even. And this place is like home. Please, promise no matter what happens, you won't do anything stupid to put yourself in a place you don't want to be." Kylia spoke quickly. The lump in her throat was becoming bigger, and her eyes were starting to prickle.  
  
"I promise," Johan said, staring at the ceiling. Then he went to his trunk by the fireplace, and unlocked it. He rummaged around in it for awhile, and when he turned back to her, his face was dry, but his eyes were bright. He put an amethyst pendant in her hand, attached to a silver chain.  
  
"This used to be Alanai's. I want you to keep it. So you won't forget me. I guess that's seventeen years worth of birthday presents...."  
  
"From my brother," Kylia said firmly, tasting blood from the place where she had bitten her lip in an effort to keep from crying. "Thank you." She put the pendant around her neck.  
  
Johan stared at her. He had never had an actual family; he had been an only child, and his parents hadn't ever paid him much attention, preferring him to stay at Sam's house rather than his own. But the afternoon's events had made him realize something that he hadn't before. Blood was important, but just because someone had the same blood as you, didn't mean you were the same person. And just because someone didn't have the same blood as you, it didn't mean you couldn't be family.  
  
Kylia took a step forward, and embraced Johan. "Take care of yourself, because I don't know when I'll see you again to do it for you," she whispered.  
  
Johan attempted a laugh as she let go of him.  
  
"I'm not going to say goodbye, okay? You never know, I might be back." Kylia couldn't fight the tears anymore. They fell from her eyes and to the floor. She didn't bother to stop them.  
  
"No...I will be back. I will see you again. I promise. So instead of goodbye...I'll see you later, Johan."  
  
"You too." Johan could barely speak; his throat was too tight.  
  
Kylia turned and walked up the stairs. She didn't look back, but if she had, she would have a full grown man sink into the armchair and cry. 


	10. Chapter Fourteen: The Temple of Time

Author's Note: ' This chapter isn't very good, if it doesn't make sense I'm sorry. There's also a bit more cussing and violence than usual. I was having an off day while writing it, so it's a bit...cheesy. I hope it's not too bad though, I tried editing it but I made it worse, so...That's the best I can do. I really hope the next one will be better.  
  
Chapter Fourteen: The Temple of Time  
  
"Wake up, please, hurry, you have to wake up...."  
  
Not again, thought Link. I'm really getting tired of this dream....  
  
He felt water falling on his face, and he was sure that this was the same dream he had been having. But he found he was wrong when he opened his eyes. It was Navi dripping water on his face to wake him up.  
  
"Huh? Where am I? What happened? Where's Ruto?"  
  
"Shh!" Navi hissed at him. "Be quiet, or it'll hear us!"  
  
"What, exactly, will hear us?"  
  
"I don't know, it looks like a huge jellyfish. It knocked you out, and Ruto tried to drag you away from it. She got you in here, but it grabbed her and went that way." Navi indicated a long, dark passage before them. "It's after the stone. It must think she has it, but...."  
  
Navi dug into his pocket and pulled out a beautiful sapphire that was glowing with a soft blue light.  
  
"Navi! Where did you get that?"  
  
"I found it after that thing went away. It was under a pile of fish guts."  
  
"That's nice to know."  
  
"Technically, we could leave now, since I'm the one who can use the stones magic, and we have all three of them, but we really should save Ruto."  
  
"Well, I dunno about that...what? Oh, c'mon, don't look at me like that, I was just kidding! Let's go."  
  
They set off down the passage quickly, not talking. Navi, however, could tell something was bothering Link. She stopped, forcing Link to stop with her, as she was the light.  
  
"What's wrong?" He started to interrupt, but she stopped him. "Don't lie, there's something bugging you and I want to know what it is."  
  
Link took a deep breath. He had no idea why he wanted to keep it to himself, perhaps he was worried she'd think he was stupid.  
  
"Drop it."  
  
"No."  
  
"I'm not telling you a thing, and you can't read my mind because I'm thinking about something else now."  
  
Navi tried. He was thinking about food. She snorted with laughter. "You can't be hungry now!"  
  
Link grinned at her. "Can't I? And anyway, I'm not really, I just don't want you barging into my thoughts. How'd you feel if I did that to you?"  
  
"Fair point." Navi suddenly realized how generous he had been with her privacy, considering she hadn't respected his at all. She also realized how lucky she was that he had, because there was more than one thing she was hiding from him at the moment....  
  
Link, getting tired of standing around, pulled out the Sapphire and attempted to navigate through the tunnel with its light, the result being promptly stubbing his toe and swearing. Navi shook her head and rolled her eyes.  
  
"I'm coming, all right?" she said, fighting the urge to laugh.  
  
"It's not funny," Link snapped.  
  
"Yes it is!"  
  
"No it isn't!"  
  
"Is too!"  
  
"Is n—what the hell?"  
  
"Link!"  
  
But Navi couldn't blame him for his language, because he had just laid eyes on the giant jellyfish for the first time. He grabbed Navi out of the air and yanked her back out of sight. The jellyfish was looking down on Ruto, who apparently wasn't restrained by anything except fear. She was trembling, but her fists were clenched, as was her jaw; she seemed determined not to show signs of fear.  
  
"It's got Ruto!" he hissed. Then his blood ran cold as he heard the awful voice that had spoken to him during his battle with both Queen Gohma and King Dodongo.  
  
"Girl, I'm warning you, if you don't tell me hat I need to know, you'll be fish food by the time that brat gets here."  
  
"No! I don't care what you do to me! I'm not giving it to you! And you just wait till Link gets here, he'll—"  
  
Her words were broken off by cruel laughter.  
  
"Do you honestly think he stands a chance against me? Think again, Princess. Baranade will crush him to pieces."  
  
"This thing has a name? You're really, really, sick, you know that?"  
  
"Yes, and I thank you for the compliment."  
  
Link looked at Navi with wide eyes. "Where is that coming from?" he hissed at her.  
  
"I don't know!" Navi squeaked.  
  
The voice filled the room again, a menacing growl now, one that made the hairs on the back of Link's neck stand on end. He could feel Navi shaking on his shoulder. "Ruto, this is you last chance. Where is the stone?"  
  
"I don't kn—"  
  
"Don't lie to me, girl! You do know, I can sense it! Where have you hidden it? Tell me, and I might spare your life."  
  
Link was a bit surprised at what Ruto did next; she spat angrily and yelled, "Go to hell!"  
  
The growl increased. "Very well, if that's the way you want it...I believe you're the one who will be seeing the afterlife, my dear...."  
  
A shrill scream echoed around the room as Baranade advanced toward her. Before Navi could stop him, Link had ran out of the passage and put himself in front of Ruto. "Get out of the way!" he yelled.  
  
Ruto didn't need telling twice. She ran to the passage where Navi and Link had been moments before. Navi came flying out of the tunnel, and joined Link. No way was he going to be able to do this by himself. Baranade went to follow Ruto, but Link stopped him by holding up the Sapphire. "No use!" he shouted. "I've got it! I've got all three of them!"  
  
The voice laughed. "Then this will be all too easy, boy. Baranade, destroy him!"  
  
"Not in your lifetime," Link muttered. He suddenly realized that Baranade was crackling with electricity. His sword would be useless. He put it back in sheath and drew out the boomerang.  
  
"Link, move it!"  
  
Link heard Navi's shout and jumped out of the way just in time to avoid being shocked by a wave of electricity Baranade had shot at him.  
  
"It can't see! Just be quiet!" She was yelling as loudly as she could from the other side of the room. It worked; Baranade shot another wave of electricity that way and she dodged easily, flying over to join Link, who had just launched the boomerang.  
  
Baranade turned blue, and the electricity stopped. Link took the opportunity to charge forward with his sword, and he managed to do quite a bit of damage before the electricity started going again.  
  
"Just do that a few more times, and he's through!" Navi shouted, flying to the other end of the room again. Baranade pummeled her with electricity, only this time she didn't dodge quite as quickly. "Close one," she muttered darkly as he threw the boomerang again.  
  
Link caught the boomerang with one hand and pulled out his sword with the other, doing it quickly enough so that by the time Baranade had unfroze, it was making sounds that sounded something like a wheeze; Link knew one more hit would take it down for good. Navi echoed his thoughts by flying around to the other side of the room and yelling, "Let's go! One more time, Link!"  
  
Baranade was beginning to catch on, and shot a wave of electricity at Navi from more than one place, and she flew right onto one, not seeing it soon enough. Link saw her fall to the floor, light fading fast.  
  
"Navi! Dammit!" He risked a quick glance at Ruto, who looked terrified, and then jumped out of the way as another wave of static hit him. He ran, catlike, toward the fallen fairy, and stuffed her in his pocket. He looked at Ruto again.  
  
"Scream," he mouthed silently, hoping she'd catch on.  
  
She did, and gave an ear piercing shriek as if she was on the verge of death. She ducked behind the rock just in time, and Link threw the boomerang.  
  
Its aim was true, and he ran forward with his sword again, cutting every inch of Baranade he could reach, angry at it for hurting Navi. When it unfroze, it fell limply to the ground and exploded, covering both Link and Ruto in green and red slime.  
  
Link stared at it for a second, then drew Navi out of his pocket. He was quite amazed at how different she looked without so much light around her; she wore dark green clothing, much like the Kokiri did, and had shoulder length brown hair. "Navi," he said hoarsely, "Wake up."  
  
Ruto ran forward out of her hiding place, and looked at Navi. "Oh my goddesses," she whispered. "It shocked her?"  
  
Link nodded. He knew she was still alive, but what could he do to help her?  
  
Ruto seemed to hear his thoughts, and told him, "Give me the Emerald."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Just do it!"  
  
"Okay...." Link pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to her. "What are you—?"  
  
"Shh."  
  
Ruto laid Navi on the shining green stone, and in a moment, to Link's great amazement and relief, Navi's light started growing, and soon, she sat up, looking around with worry.  
  
"Navi! Thank the Goddesses! Ruto, what'd you do?" Link asked her.  
  
Navi answered, somewhat shakily. "The Emerald must have healing powers," she said. "It makes sense, look at all the herbs and things in the Lost Woods."  
  
Ruto nodded. "I was hoping that was it."  
  
Link looked at the stone in his hand, then pulled out the others, awed at their beauty.  
  
Everyone looked at them in silence for awhile, Link not quite believing he had at last managed to get all three. He, a ten year old boy, had managed to do what the full grown King of Evil had not. Sure, half of it had been luck rather than skill, but he had gotten something that was supposed to be impossible to get, had gotten something legendary and amazing, and he'd beat someone else to it. That in itself was an entirely new feeling, and he was so proud of himself; for the first time ever, he had done something right.  
  
"Time to get going," said Navi, still a bit unsteady.  
  
Another worry had hit Link, however. How was he going to get out of marrying Ruto without making a whole lot of people very angry?  
  
Navi, as usual, seemed to be reading his mind. "Ruto," she said gently, "You might not like this, but Link can't marry you."  
  
Ruto looked at the floor, disappointed. "Why not?"  
  
"Well, you see, he's too young. And he's never going to get any older, so he won't grow up like you will." Navi's mind shrieked at her to stop lying, but she figured when Link did find out the truth, he wouldn't mind her lying to Ruto to get him out of a marriage to a ten year old Zora princess.  
  
"Oh, okay...."  
  
"It's not that he doesn't like you, of course, he just can't marry you," she added kindly. Ruto brightened a bit. Link, on the other hand, was dumbstruck.  
  
How did you do that? he thought.  
  
Something called tact, was the wry response.  
  
Ruto grabbed the Sapphire. "Navi, can you get us out of here?" she asked.  
  
"You bet. Just find that water we were stuck in, that should be enough."  
  
They chatted easily on the way back to the pool of water. When they got there, Ruto held out the stone, and Navi shouted, "Hydroga!"  
  
A stream of water issued from the pool, and rocketed toward them. "Hold on!" Navi yelled as it caught them and tossed them upward. Link, holding his breath, saw a vast whirl of shapes and colors as the went forward, then up yet again. They finally landed near Jabu Jabu's mouth, and Link found himself staring at teeth again.  
  
Navi looked exhausted, and Link couldn't blame her. He snatched her out of the air and put her on his shoulder. "How're we gonna get this thing open?"  
  
Ruto shook her head. Navi, however, dove into Link's pocket and tried to pull out his slingshot. She was too tired to drag it up with her, but Link got the message. He put her on his shoulder and shot a Deku Seed at the teeth, causing the mouth to open.  
  
They all cheered, and ran outside into the fresh air. The sky was cloudy and overcast, but Link was hard pressed to feel worried about anything now, he was so happy.  
  
"Yes!" he cheered, jumping in the air as Jabu Jabu dove under the water. "Yes!"  
  
* * *  
  
Link walked into Hyrule Field with a feeling of foreboding. He had seen the overcast sky, and heard the thunder, and he was preoccupied because he didn't know what was going to happen to him or what Navi would do when it did. Navi seemed to be preoccupied too, but he was too tired to try and hack into her well-protected mind.  
  
Navi didn't even notice anything was bothering Link. She was too busy thinking about the lie she had told Ruto, and the fact that she and she alone knew the whole story of what happened ten years ago and she would have to tell Link sooner or later.  
  
She hated keeping secrets! She hated it! She wanted to tell him so badly, but he was so happy now, he finally did what he needed to do...and the truth would be a bit too much, right out here in Hyrule Field. But how long was she going to be able to put it off anyway? If she was ever going to do it, it had better be while she had the courage, and that was....  
  
Link sighed. Maybe Navi would know about his dream and what it would mean. She probably had experience in these matters anyway. And she was only trying to help when she asked. But if he was going to tell her, he had to do it....  
  
...now.  
  
"I've got something to tell you!" they blurted out in unison, as they reached the top of the hill overlooking the drawbridge.  
  
Each stared at the other warily. They had stopped walking. "Yeah?" said Link. "Go on."  
  
Navi shook her head, even though she knew he couldn't see it. "Uh-uh. You first."  
  
"No, I insist, you go first."  
  
"No, you go first!"  
  
"You!"  
  
"You!"  
  
"Fine!" Link snapped. He stared at the drawbridge that loomed ahead, and started speaking. He told her all about the series of dreams he was having, and told her all he could remember was rain, and a drawbridge. He told her what she already knew, that certain words triggered memories, but they never lasted long enough for him to remember anything.  
  
Navi listened intently, and when he was done, she sighed. "Link, I'm going to tell you straight out, there's definitely something different about you." This much was true. "I haven't figured all of it out yet, but I think you're able to see things before they happen. About how long has this lasted?"  
  
"Five or six months now, only it keeps getting worse...."  
  
"Well, I don't know if that's actually going to happen or not, but you're assuming that if it does, you're going to...." Navi trailed off. She could not say the word die. "And it might not happen anyway. But the truth is...." she sighed. This wasn't easy. "If it really does happen, there's not a lot you can do to change it."  
  
Link continued to stare at the drawbridge. "Oh well," he said. "Might as well get it over with."  
  
"But Link, I—"  
  
"I know you gotta tell me something too. But it'll have to wait. I have to go while I've got the guts." Link walked forward, rather bravely, in Navi's opinion. She could hear the thunder growing louder. And she could smell smoke...a blind panic rose from deep within her. Smoke? Where was that coming from? What was happening here? What if Link really did—?  
  
The wind was beginning to howl now. And Navi knew. That was no ordinary dream he had. And this was no ordinary storm....  
  
* * *  
  
Zelda paced the floor of her room, staring at the heavy clouds out her window. How long had it been, since she looked out of this window, and felt the cold evil that was then so unfamiliar, but now so ever present? How long, since the days when she had played jokes on the staff and guards, laughed with her father and Impa, visited the ranch with the Composer Brothers? How long, since she had been truly happy?  
  
She was tired of this. Differences or not, she was going to talk to her father. The least she could do was try to make amends. They could get along without discussing Ganondorf. She only wanted him to love her, like he used to...tears of frustration, sadness, and anger rose from within her, and she wiped them away angrily. Crying wasn't going to help her case at all. Before she could turn around, however, the door to her room burst open.  
  
"Impa, don't do that to me!" she said, not turning around. "You scared me half to d—" Zelda stopped and swallowed hard as the familiar cold creeped into her veins again. She summoned all of her courage, and turned around.  
  
She screamed. It was Ganondorf. And behind him, she could see, more clearly than ever, the scene of death and decay, the scene of utter terror and despair...and she realized who that person was, behind him, being slaughtered....  
  
She shrieked again as he walked toward her.  
  
"You've irked me far too long, girl." His voice was a low, menacing, growl. Two sinisterly smiling Gerudo guards came in behind him. "And you have something that I want. Since I know you won't give it to me, I'm going to have to...dispose of you."  
  
The Gerudo women drew out swords and began to walk forward. Zelda screamed again, but she knew it was no use...who would hear her?  
  
"Ganondorf! Call those guards off of my daughter this instant, and prepare to meet the afterlife."  
  
Ganondorf and the Gerudo women turned around in one movement, their eyes wide.  
  
"Daddy!" Zelda said in relief. She had never been happier to see him.  
  
"Zelda, I should have listened to you," her father said. "But I didn't. I was so ready to make peace at last that I didn't listen to what you had to say. I didn't come because I heard your screams from the bottom of the tower. I came because I finally realized you were right, and because I wanted to save you from the fate of your beloved mother, may the Goddesses rest her uneasy soul."  
  
"Back then, I was too ready for power, and I didn't try and prevent the wars I knew would come, and it cost your dear mother her life. Now, I was too ready for peace, and it almost cost you yours. I won't let that happen again. Ganondorf, drop your weapons, and tell those women to do the same, or die." The king drew out a beautiful sword from his back. The handle was gold plated, and the blade made of the sharpest clear diamond.  
  
Ganondorf sneered. "You think I am afraid of you? You're old, and weak, you don't stand a chance against the King of Evil!"  
  
"Very well, then, if that's the way you want it. Please permit my daughter to move out of the way before we begin."  
  
Ganondorf nodded coldly at Zelda, who ran behind the bed. "Daddy, don't, please don't...."  
  
"I have to, Zelda, for my kingdom, and for you. You are the most important thing in the world to me, and I will die protecting you, if I must. I only wished I had realized it sooner." The king took a long look at her. "I love you, daughter. I always have, and always will, no matter what. And I am sorry."  
  
"Enough!" Ganondorf snapped. "Take him!"  
  
The two Gerudo women leapt forward, one of them attacking from his right, the other from his left. The king ducked and made a formidable gash on the face of one of the warriors, and the other, not being able to stop herself in time, rushed forward and met the tip of his sword, and it went through her throat. Zelda screamed and his her eyes. She didn't open them for a long time, but when she did, she saw that the other woman had been decapitated, and her father was now fighting Ganondorf.  
  
Ganondorf had clearly underestimated the king's fighting abilities. Both of them were sweating and panting, each throwing an attack at the other, only to have it miss, and to duck out of the way just in time to avoid being killed by his rival's sword. On and on it went, for ages, until the king, missing a step, met his doom at the end of the Ganondorf's sword. Zelda screamed, a sob rising in her throat.  
  
"Daddy! Daddy, no, don't leave me, please, don't go! I love you...I'm sorry...."  
  
"Zelda," he gasped, "Run. Run now." His eyes closed. "I am sorry, daughter, I tried...I love you...goodbye, Zelda...."  
  
"Daddy!" Zelda screamed, sobbing. She looked at Ganondorf, tears pouring down her face. "You'll pay for this! I hate you!"  
  
Ganondorf sneered again. "You're about to get the same as he did, you little brat. You have a Triforce piece and the Ocarina of Time, and I want them."  
  
"Never!"  
  
"I thought so. Very well, then it is time for you to die," Ganondorf said, his tone indifferent. It was unnerving. But Zelda was determined to be brave, this once, for her father. She stood her ground, waiting.  
  
"Not so fast, Ganon." Impa appeared at the doorway, with no weapon on her, but with a look of fury and hate etched on every line in her tired face. "Zelda, get out of here. Find a horse. I'll be there in a moment."  
  
Zelda didn't want to go. She could now smell smoke and hear shouts of pain from beyond the door. With a sinking feeling, she knew. The castle was being attacked. She looked at Impa and shook her head. She was not going to let anyone else die because of her. While no one was looking, she grabbed the Ocarina of Time and her locket from a drawer, the two things she didn't want to lose. She dodged around Ganondorf to stand beside Impa, who looked at the bodies on the floor and back up at Ganondorf with the look of purest loathing and hate.  
  
"I'll fight another day, filthy bastard," she said softly. "But you mark my words. You'll beg for death when I get done with you. You'll pay for what you've done."  
  
Impa took Zelda's hand, and backed slowly out of the room. The minute they had crossed the threshold, she turned and ran like the wind down to the stables. Zelda saw more bodies on the way down, Gerudo and Hylian alike, but more of the latter—some were beheaded, some stabbed, and some so badly mangled she didn't even know if they were Gerudo or Hylian. She wanted to close her eyes and cover her ears and pretend this was all a bad dream, but she couldn't. It was real, and there was nothing she could do about it.  
  
Impa saddled up a horse when they got to the barn. The barn was on fire, like the rest of the castle, and all the horses were panicking. She grabbed a white mare named Star and put Zelda on it, then climbed up after her.  
  
"Go!" she yelled at the horse. "Faerore, help her to run like the wind!"  
  
* * *  
  
The drawbridge banged open. Lightning flashed once, twice, three times, as the thunder grew louder and it began to drizzle. The wind was now blowing so hard that Link could see the smoke coming toward them. Its biting smell made him feel sick.  
  
Link stood there, fists clenched. "C'mon," he said shakily to Navi. "Let's—let's go to the Inn, before it gets worse." But the moment he started to move forward, a beautiful white mare came charging out of the Market, tearing at them at full speed. Link recognized the riders as Zelda, looking quite terrified on the front, and Impa, looking grim, behind her, before he had to jump out of the way. He saw Zelda give him a terrified glance, then throw something as hard as she could into the moat.  
  
Oh, Goddesses....  
  
Link knew what was coming next. He felt something horrible and cold fill his entire body, and he felt as if he were going to be sick. His pulse was racing, and his hands were clammy and cold.  
  
A black stallion emerged from the drawbridge next. Deadly black, and wearing armor, the horse reared up, and when it came back down, he could see the rider was Ganondorf. He sneered in a deadly whisper, barely audible above the raging storm....  
  
"Where is she, boy? Which way did they go?"  
  
Link remained silent, determined not to show fear. He unclenched one shaking fist and drew out his sword, noticing how small it was against Ganondorf and all of his power....  
  
Gannondorf laughed, an evil, horrible laugh. His nostrils flared. "So, you think you can defeat me, with those puny toys?"  
  
Link held his ground. He was beginning to feel fear, a blind panic. This can't be happening, he thought, this isn't happening, please, let me wake up soon, please, let it be a nightmare....  
  
"You know you can't protect her. No one can. It's too late now. Everything she cared about is gone, and soon you will be, too."  
  
Ganondorf held out his hand. A ball of light that glowed with an evil purple tint formed in his palm, small at first, then growing bigger. His red eyes showed no mercy. And Link remembered....  
  
The castle thinks we were trampled by horses on an unsupervised visit to Lon Lon Ranch. The truth was, Ganon murdered us with a spell that stunned us so we could not move.  
  
Ganondorf drew back his hand....  
  
We tried to fight it off, but we were not strong enough of the body or the heart.  
  
The attack came flying at Link, so fast he hardly had time to breathe—  
  
Because of the power of the curse, anyone who is unable to fight it off and try to get up and move will die the most painful death he can inflict upon a person.  
  
Link tried to dodge, but it caught him in the midriff, and he landed flat on his back in the soggy mud, the wind knocked out of him. He didn't hear Ganondorf's jeers as the horse rode away, only felt the rain falling on his face, and the most unbearable pain he could imagine. His entire body was on fire, he was being crushed by thousands of boulders, the pain was terrible, and he was being smothered by it, he could not move or think or even breathe—  
  
But he could think, and he could hear— "Link! Get up, please, get up! Think of everyone you care about or you won't be able to move!"  
  
But Link didn't care, he wanted to die, it had to better than this unbearable agony, this horrible, insufferable, purest of pains....  
  
"Think of Saria, Johan, anyone!"  
  
But he didn't want to think...all he wanted was to die...to let it be over soon....  
  
"Think of all those people who've died already, and all those people who will die if you can't get up!"  
  
Who was shouting that? Was that Navi? Navi...was his fairy...she helped him, he remembered that...she had told him what to do...when he couldn't figure it out...and she was a friend...a very dear friend...she had stuck with him, falling down the dark Deku Tree, in the core of a volcano, and in the belly of a fish...she had been with him...the whole time...through every last bit of it, right by his side, even when she could have left...and he needed to get up...he owed at least that much to her....  
  
Link sat up, and fell on his back again. He felt like every muscle in his body was suffering from severe cramps. His face must have been horribly pale...Navi was still shouting at him but his ears were ringing and he couldn't hear her, except in his own mind....  
  
If it really does happen, there's not a lot you can do to change it.  
  
Wanna bet? he thought grimly, sitting up. The cramps seemed to lessen slightly. He heaved himself up with an almighty effort, barely able to move. He winced.  
  
"The moat...what did she throw?" Link rasped, trying not to lose his balance. Navi was looking at him with concern.  
  
"Are you okay?" Navi had to shout to be heard above the wind.  
  
"I hope so!" he yelled at her.  
  
Navi threw one last glance at him before diving into the moat to try and retrieve what Zelda had thrown. A few seconds later, however, she popped up, around three feet to the right of where she had went in. "Current's too strong," she muttered. Then she looked at him again.  
  
"What?"  
  
"How did you...." She silenced.  
  
"I'm waiting!" Link would have yelled even if the wind was not trying to roar above his words.  
  
"Why'd you get up? You were down there moaning about how you wanted to die!"  
  
"I said that out loud? Damn it!" He said that loud enough so that the wind couldn't compete. He noticed with relief that the storm seemed to be letting up, now that Ganondorf was gone.  
  
"Liiink."  
  
"Don't bug me about it, I can't help it. And anyway, that's none of your business," he added delicately, quickly hiding his thoughts in case she tried to read his mind again.  
  
"Fine. Listen, can you walk all right? Good. How about swimming? You need to get at that thing."  
  
Link shrugged, stretching his muscles, trying to work out the aches the spell had left on him. Then he walked up to the water's edge.  
  
"Hold it," Navi said. "Move to the left a little, because of the current...."  
  
Obediently, Link walked a few paces to the left, then jumped in, keeping his eyes closed. When he opened them, he saw the gray stone below him, covered in moss. Something beautiful, shiny, and blue was gleaming against it. Link grabbed it. It felt smooth. Without waiting to see what it was, he popped back out of the water, gasping for air.  
  
Link climbed out of the moat and laid on his back, letting the rain wash over his tired and already soaked body. He was so exhausted. Something about that thing in his hand made him want to go to sleep...but he couldn't sleep here, not now...he closed his eyes....  
  
"Link!" said a voice, sharply.  
  
"Huh?" Link opened his eyes blearily and sat up, noticing the wet, soggy, ground had suddenly become, hard, dry, stone, and that he himself was no longer soaked to the bone.  
  
"Wake up, I don't have all day, damn it!"  
  
Link rubbed his eyes, and realized with a start he was in a stone temple, and that someone was standing right in front of him. More astonishing, that someone was Zelda. He glared at her.  
  
"I thought princesses had to mind their mouths and manners," he smirked.  
  
"Just shut up!" She looked close to tears now. "Ganondorf's attacked, and he's killed—"she broke off. "The castle's in ruins, and you need to get into the Temple of Ti—"  
  
"Hold it. How am I here? How are you here? I just saw you ride past on a white horse!"  
  
"It's a telepathic message, you idiot," she said witheringly. "I imprinted it on the ocarina just before I threw it to you, in case you survived. I won't have any memory of this at all, I'll just feel drained when you get it." She paused. "Actually I've been wondering why you aren't dead, that should have killed you—anyway, you need to get to the Temple of Time. It's supposed to be hidden, but I think I know where it might be. The Shekiah people had a legend, Impa told me abo—"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"The Shekiah, an old race that died out ten years ago during the wars. Impa is one of the last Shekiah left. Anyway, they had a legend, and it's long and complicated, but it's on some hidden mountain surrounded by clouds—"  
  
"Hey, I know where that—"  
  
"Would you please stop interrupting me? I don't have long, this isn't easy, you know, it takes energy," Zelda snapped.  
  
"Fine," Link muttered. "Stupid princess."  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"Nothing, nothing...."  
  
"Okay, then. When you get to the Temple of Time—which is here, by the way—you have to walk over to that alter there—" Zelda pointed to a place behind her, where Link could see a large block of stone with indentations in it. "—then you have to play the Song of Time to open the door of time, so you can get in the Sacred Realm, get the Triforce, and wish for Ganondorf to drop dead or something."  
  
"You've had a long time to dwell on this, haven't you?"  
  
Zelda's eyes flashed angrily. "Yes, I have! You try living in the same place as him for a little while, see if you don't dwell on it!" She gripped her right hand with her left one, rubbing it hard; apparently she was unaware she was doing it.  
  
"Sah-ree," Link muttered sarcastically, feeling slightly ashamed.  
  
"Quite all right," said Zelda briskly, breaking the silence and taking him by surprise. "Anyway, the song. Hurry up, give me the ocarina. I know you have one of your own, you can play it along with me." Link handed her the blue instrument, still feeling slightly dazed. She raised it to her lips and played a short, slow melody. Link tried copying it, and got it right on the second try.  
  
"Not bad for someone like you."  
  
"I'm sorry? What was that supposed to mean?"  
  
"If you can't figure it out you're only proving my point."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Here—I'll write it down, knowing you you'll forget—try not to get this really wet—"  
  
"No, I wanna know exactly what you mean by—"  
  
"I'm too tired to keep this up much longer, are you sure you know where the Temple is?"  
  
Link wasn't sure at all, but he wasn't about to admit it in front of Princess Brat. "Of course."  
  
She seemed to know he wasn't telling the truth, but said, "Fine. Good luck."  
  
A bright white light started to glow all around the pair of them. Link understood; the message's energy was running out.  
  
"Oh, and Link...thanks for getting the stones." Her voice was so quiet Link wasn't sure whether or not she had actually said it. The light grew brighter, and Link found himself lying on his back, soaking wet, outside of the drawbridge again.  
  
"What are you doing? You can't possibly want to sleep out here...."  
  
Link sat up. "That was," he said resolutely, "the weirdest dream I've ever had—and that includes the one where I saw Mido turn into a spider."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Link explained to Navi what had happened during his encounter with Zelda, and what she had told him about the hidden Temple of Time, stopping only when he had to cough or sneeze. The smell of smoke wasn't helping any.  
  
"Just perfect, I'm sick."  
  
"We can use the Emerald on you when we get back to the Inn, but I don't think it's a smart idea to get it out h—"  
  
Link and Navi looked at each other, eyes wide.  
  
"I forgot!" Link yelped. "The Inn!"  
  
They raced to the secret room, Link suddenly aware, fully aware, of the seriousness of the situation. Hyrule was being attacked. There were people dying, right this second. People who had been alive minutes before were dead now. There was war.  
  
"Johan?" Link called as he raced down the stairs. "Kylia? Poetrader? Anyone?"  
  
Link nearly missed the last step in his haste, but saw to his relief when he got down there that the Inn looked exactly like it had when he last left it, except, from what he could see standing at the bottom of the stairs, it was completely empty.  
  
"Johan?" Link ran into the kitchen, closely followed by Navi, where Johan was sitting at the table, drinking a mug of coffee as usual, but looking as though he was in another world.  
  
"Johan?" Link repeated.  
  
Johan looked up, startled. "Link! How long have you been here?"  
  
"Just a few seconds, why? And where is everyone?"  
  
"Poetrader's in his room, and Kylia left."  
  
"Left?"  
  
"It's a long story. What happened to you, anyway? You look like you were attacked by a herd of wild animals."  
  
"Well, that's a long story, too," Link said hurriedly, "but to make it short, Ganon was leaving the Market as I was coming in, and he decided I was more trouble than I'm worth," Link said grimly. "Shot a spell at me, it wasn't any fun. Zelda and Impa rode by too. They were running away from him. Johan, Hyrule Castle is being attacked right now. It's awful, I could hear the noise and smell the smoke all the way from the drawbridge."  
  
Johan gripped his mug. No way. Nothing else could have happened, not today. History couldn't repeat itself, not now...there couldn't possibly be any more fighting, could there?  
  
"Are you sure, Link?"  
  
"Dead sure. Navi can tell you, she was there."  
  
But Navi was oddly quiet. No one knew it except her, but she was experiencing the same reaction as Johan. She couldn't believe this was happening all over again. Wasn't it enough the first time? Wasn't it bad enough then? Didn't they learn their lesson, hadn't too many people died, people that were innocent, just like Link's parents?  
  
"It's true," she said quietly. "We have to do something, right now."  
  
Both Johan and Link stared at her.  
  
"What?" she said. "Link, we have to stop this, don't you see? We're the only ones that can! We have everything we need to get into the Sacred Realm and wish him away for good! We have to do it, because no mortal is going to be able to stop him the way he is now. He's just as powerful this minute as he was ten years ago, maybe even more powerful."  
  
Link stared at Navi hard. This was the first time she had openly talked about the Wars ten years ago.  
  
"The Temple of Time," Link said slowly, "the Temple of Time is on the mountain. The glow behind the trees. What Zelda told me in that dream I had. And the fact that no one can put it on a map or get anywhere near the forest...it all makes sense. Perfect, logical sense. Navi, you're a genius."  
  
"Me? What did I do?"  
  
"I was reading your mind, d'you think I could have figured all that out on my own?" Link rolled his eyes at Johan. "She's nuts."  
  
Johan was still sitting like a statue, clutching his mug of coffee. Link noticed this. "What's the matter?"  
  
Johan shook his head. "I can't fight. I got out of the army to be a guard because I was sick of fighting. My best friends were killed ten years ago and I couldn't stand any more violence. And now I either have to fight or hide. I don't like either choice."  
  
"Then stay here."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Stay here, and if you want to fight, you can, and if it's too much, you can come back here. No one will ever find this place, it's supposed to be hidden. Did you say it was used as a hiding place ten years ago? It's the only option you have."  
  
"Well, I suppose...."  
  
"And, if Navi and I don't make it back, get yourself ready and come after us, because all the things will be there to get in the Sacred Realm with, and if we don't—well, it'll have to be done. Someone's got to do it if we can't make it."  
  
"Okay," Johan said. He hoped he could stay in this dazed state forever, so he wouldn't have time to get used to the idea that his very worst nightmare was happening all over again....  
  
"Link," said Navi weakly, "This is crazy...." She seemed to have lost the nerve that had been so present a few minutes ago. Link knew they would need each other to keep their courage up.  
  
"Navi, it's like you said, right now, we're the only ones who can do anything. We have to go." Link handed the paper that Zelda had written the song on to Johan. "I've got this memorized, but in case you need it, I'm leaving it with you. C'mon, Navi, let's hurry, maybe we can stop this before the damage is really done."  
  
But the damage was already done. The people that were dead were dead, there was no way to bring them back.  
  
And there was no way to turn back time.  
  
* * *  
  
Link raced out of the trapdoor into the air above. He could smell the smoke, now that he was outdoors. It was worse than ever. He walked quickly toward the forest, Navi hot on his heels.  
  
"Link," she panted, "What if the storm comes back?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
This proved to be true when the first crack of thunder echoed across the mountain top. Lightning followed, then the rain started coming down in sheets, cold as ice. Link gritted his teeth and kept going. The wind was howling again, and he knew he must be getting closer. He made his way through the trees, trying to remember the place where Kylia had taken him.  
  
The wind was now howling so hard he stuffed both his cap and Navi into his pocket to keep them from blowing away. While he had his attention focused elsewhere, he wasn't watching where he was going, and he stubbed his toe on something. The trapdoor Kylia had led him through. And then he spotted the glow behind the trees....  
  
He raced toward it; he was close now, the trees were thinning out. The glow had disappeared, but Link didn't need it anymore. In front of him stood a huge stone building, with stained glass windows showing picture of the Triforce and of three women who Link could only guess were the Goddesses. He ran inside, glad for shelter out of the storm. The inside was a small room with dirty stone walls with a cheap, filthy rug at the door. It was the size of a small bedroom, and Link noticed a door on the far wall. Navi came flying out of his pocket, carrying his cap. Link took it from her wordlessly and rung it out, along with his tunic and his hair; he was soaked to the bone.  
  
When there was a small lake on the dirty floor and Link's clothes were as dry as they were going to get, he walked five paces and opened the other door.  
  
The Temple was beautiful. It was made of marble and concrete, and on this floor there was a rich velvet rug with gold trim at the door. Across the large room was a stone block, the same one he had seen in hi dream. The altar. There were stairs behind the altar, mostly for decoration, as they only went perhaps ten inches or so upwards, and past them was a door that looked to be made of unbreakable concrete. Above the door were three stone triangles.  
  
Link walked slowly across the tiled room toward the block of stone, his footsteps bouncing off the walls. "It's beautiful," he said quietly, and his voice bounced off the walls and ceiling. Everything he did seemed so loud, even though the storm was howling outside.  
  
He stopped when he got to the altar. He realized his pulse was pounding. Slowly, he took the Spiritual Stones out of his pocket, and just as slowly, put them in their respective places on the altar.  
  
He yelped and jumped backwards as the altar started glowing.  
  
Shaking himself mentally, he pulled out the Ocarina of Time. Navi sat on his shoulder, and he knew she was as nervous as he was. He didn't like this ocarina much, it was too big for him. He wished he could play the one Saria gave him instead....  
  
He raised the ocarina to his lips and played the tune Zelda taught him.  
  
It too echoed off the walls, so that it sounded so loud the biggest storm in the world could not have been louder. Link, still holding the ocarina, put his hands over his ears, but the song continued....  
  
The door started rumbling, it was opening, ever so slowly. The triangles now began to glow gold, as if there was a light shining from deep within them. The Stones were revolving slowly on the spot....  
  
And then all the noise and movement stopped, and the Temple was quite as still as it had been. Link lowered his hands. "Should we go in?" he asked, unaccountably nervous.  
  
Navi nodded. Link couldn't see it, but he felt her response.  
  
She went in first, so she could be the light. The room was dark, except for one ray of light shining down from a stained glass window. It landed on something shiny, stuck in a small block of stone.  
  
"I know," said Navi shakily, "I know that couldn't be the Master Sword."  
  
Link walked toward it. "Impa said...that we wouldn't need to pull the sword, unless evil got to the Triforce. But it already has, hasn't it? Doesn't Ganondorf have the Triforce of Power, now?"  
  
"How'd you know that?"  
  
Link smirked, though it wasn't his usual grin at all, it was too nervous. "Read your mind, ages ago, back when we were in the belly of that stupid fish."  
  
Navi recalled thinking about it then, and scowled at Link.  
  
A silence fell.  
  
"So...sh-should I pull it, or not?"  
  
"I think you'd better, it might be the only way we're going to be able to get in...."  
  
Link swallowed hard and nodded. He walked up to the sword, in the middle of the room, and noticed his footsteps more than usual.  
  
He placed both hands around the edge of the cool metal.  
  
Link yanked the Master Sword upward sharply out of the Pedestal of Time.  
  
It was heavy, heavier than even the Hylian Shield, but he didn't dare drop it. He was suddenly aware that he was surrounded by a blue light. And he heard footsteps behind him.  
  
"Well done, boy, you've just gotten me into the Sacred Realm."  
  
Link gasped and turned around, now painfully aware that he couldn't leave the light, which was steadily turning from deep blue to white. He stared silently at Ganondorf, willing himself not to throw up.  
  
"I admit, I under estimated you, boy. You survived a curse full grown men couldn't throw off. But you're just a little kid, you don't have a chance against me." The horrible laughter filled the Temple, echoing off the walls. The light was so bright all he could make out was Ganondorf's shadowy outline.  
  
"But I thank you," he whispered. "You've just handed Hyrule to me on a silver platter."  
  
The last thing Link could remember was seeing bright white light everywhere, and the last thing he heard was that horrible, sinister, laughter echoing off the walls.  
  
The last thing he thought was, Hyrule is doomed.  
  
* * *  
  
Author's Note: Hope that was okay. ^^' It'll be a looong time before the next chapter though; since this is an adapt I have to make several hundred decisions about the story before I can actually begin writing. ' Again, sorry for the general cheesy-ness. Wish me better muse powers on the next chapter. Oo' 


	11. Chapter Fifteen: Child of Destiny

Author's Notes: Okay, this is still cheesy, but I'm working on it. Lotsa violence in this chapter, because Navi finally 'fesses up and stuff, so of course there's blood all the time. Oh, and any well rounded reviews to help me get rid of the whole melodramatic cheesy feel are GREATLY appreciated.  
  
Chapter Fifteen: Child of Destiny  
  
"...and I've looked everywhere, Rarau, there's no sign of her."  
  
"Very well, very well. I suppose that must mean he hasn't found her, either. She must be doing a very good job of hiding herself...how does it look out there, Navi?"  
  
"It's really bad. I went into the Market again today and you wouldn't believe how it's changed. The whole world is just...gone...."  
  
The voices paused.  
  
"Oh, Rarau, do you think he'll ever wake up?"  
  
"I don't know, but if he does, it will be soon. It's been so long...seven years...."  
  
"I hate to think of how he'll react...I can't believe this...and it's all my fault, too...."  
  
"It most certainly is not. You said yourself that you tried to tell him."  
  
"But I told him he should pull the sword, and—"  
  
All Link could make out was blackness, as if he had gone blind. He had just heard every word of someone's conversation, but he had no idea who they were or how to put it together. His brain seemed to be numb, as if it had grown out of the habit of thinking.  
  
"Oh, Goddesses, he's waking up, Rarau, he's waking up! You'd better go...this is going to be hard enough without a total stranger here...."  
  
"Certainly. Good luck."  
  
"I'll need it...."  
  
His mind jarred back to reality all too quickly for his liking. He could suddenly think, and he knew who he was, and who one of the people talking were. He tried to speak or open his eyes, but he couldn't move. His limbs seemed so heavy....  
  
"Link," whispered Navi's voice from somewhere above him, "Can you hear me?"  
  
Yes, he thought, Yes, I can hear you, but I can't tell you I can hear you because I can't even open my eyes!  
  
He tried to form a word, but all that happened was a hoarse, low sounding moan. Well, at least he could make sound....  
  
"You can't even move, can you? Listen, when you do get up...just...well, don't panic...."  
  
Link suddenly realized he could make out a pale blue light through his eyelids. He opened his eyes. There was Navi floating above him, looking anxious and frail; her light had died down quite a bit. Link tried to sit up, but his limbs were still far too heavy, and he was having trouble thinking properly...but something was very, very, different.  
  
"Navi...what happened?" Link experienced a shock when he spoke; that voice did not belong to him, surely it was someone else's; it was hoarse, and deeper than his voice had always been. He wished he could make some sense out of all of this, but a thick fog seemed to be clouding his brain.  
  
"S-see if you can sit up...."  
  
Link tried, he moved his arms to try and support himself, but they never got there; his whole body felt heavier than a Goron. He tried again, and made it. He looked around, glad he was finally able to move. The room was made of blue light, and he was sitting in a small bed, the only object in the room except for what he recognized as his items and weapons, all laying by an old stone door. Now if only his head would clear, he could try and put two and two together, try and make sense of all of this....  
  
Link's head did clear when the full impact of what he was looking at hit him. He had been staring at his hands, and he realized that they were big. Not huge, but they weren't the size they used to be. Link yelped and jumped out of the small bed he had been lying in, he noticed his voice was still not the same. He looked down at himself, he wasn't what he remembered, as impossible as it was, he was an adult.  
  
"What happened? Navi, what's going on? Look at me, I'm—I'm—" Link couldn't find the words to describe what he was, because he didn't know. He wasn't even sure, at the moment, who he was, where he was, or why he was here.  
  
"I thought Kokiri didn't grow up—why am I—like this—what's going on—what happened?"  
  
"Link, calm down. Just sit, there's a lot I need to tell you. Please, you have to trust me, if you sit down I'll tell you everything."  
  
Link sank weakly back onto the bed. "What about Ganondorf? Did he get in? Where are we, anyway?"  
  
Navi fluttered over and sat on his shoulder. "Link, there's something I never told you. Do you remember that day at the drawbridge, right before Ganondorf attacked you?"  
  
How could he not remember? Hadn't that been less than an hour ago? She was speaking of it as if it was a distant memory. Link nodded, not trusting himself to speak.  
  
"Well, you remember, we both had something to confess that day...I forgot, in all the excitement, to tell you something that you deserve to know." Navi took a deep breath.  
  
"Link, you're not a Kokiri. You're a Hylian. You wound up in the forest as a baby, and the Deku Tree agreed to take care of you."  
  
For some reason, this didn't at all have the effect on Link it should have. Instead of getting upset, he felt calmed. He was a Hylian. It was okay that he was an adult. His mind began working again, and he was suddenly filled with questions. How did he end up in the forest in the first place? What about...didn't Hylians have parents, brothers, sisters? Why was he an adult in the first place? Even if he was a Hylian, they didn't age overnight. How long had he been here? Just where were they?  
  
His brain was so full of buzzing questions he didn't know which one to ask first. He decided that the present was more important than the past, and said, still in that voice that wasn't his, "Navi, how come I'm an adult? Even Hylians don't grow up in an hour."  
  
Navi was so grateful he hadn't gotten angry that she was willing to do almost anything to keep him calm, and telling him what was going on seemed like a good start. She could tell he was still groggy, and that his mind wasn't working right. She knew if his mind had been working right, he would have already exploded.  
  
"Okay, this is a bit of a long story, and it's kind of complicated. When we got to the Temple of Time seven years ago, and you pulled th—"  
  
"'Seven years ago'? I've been out of it for seven years?"  
  
"Just listen, I'm getting to that." Navi let her breath out in a slow hiss. She could hear his old temper returning. This was both easier and harder than she thought it would be.  
  
"Okay, when you pulled the Master Sword, you let Ganondorf into the Sacred Realm. He followed you in, and you were...knocked out, but he wasn't, because he hadn't pulled the sword. He got to the Triforce and tried to wish himself the most powerful being in the world, but the legends go that someone with an unbalanced heart cannot make a wish...."  
  
"The Triforce split into three pieces. He got power, two other people in Hyrule got Wisdom and Courage." Navi's voice shook. "I had thought before, that he already had the Triforce piece, and that's why I thought you should have pulled the sword. A very bad mistake on my part," she added bitterly.  
  
"You set a series of long standing prophecies into motion when you pulled the sword. You were too young to wield it then, so you were sealed here for seven years, in a dreamless sleep. We weren't sure if you were ever going to wake up. Only the legendary Hero of Time should be able to pull that sword. I didn't know that part of the legend either."  
  
"The prophecies said that one day, Hyrule would fall into its darkest years, and a young boy would pull the Master Sword, and only he would have the power to defeat the King of Evil."  
  
"Ganondorf? But wait, I'm not young, look at me, I'm old...."  
  
"For a Hylian, seventeen is young."  
  
"Is that how old I am? Seventeen? My Goddesses...."  
  
"The prophecies were right," Navi continued. "You pulled the sword, so you're the only one who has the power to defeat him. You can't wish him away now, because we only know where one piece of the Triforce is, and he's got it."  
  
"So," Link said slowly, dreading the answer, "When Ganondorf got the Triforce piece, what did he do with it?"  
  
"Well, he got his wish. He took over Hyrule. The place looks awful, everything is in ruins."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"I was staying here, with you, waiting for you to wake up, but Rarau suggested I try and do something to help, and I agreed, seeing as all of this happened because of my errors. I've been living in Hyrule for the last four years, coming back to the Sacred Realm, which is where we are now, about every two or three days. I couldn't get back into the forest, it's too well protected, just like it was in the first Wars. I've been looking for Zelda, or anyone who could stop this. It looks like she's doing a good job hiding, though, because I can't find her, and I hope Ganondorf can't either."  
  
"Okay, how were you getting in and out of here, and who is Rarau?"  
  
"Rarau lives here, he's one of the legendary six sages. I'll tell you about those in a minute. Anyway, he's trapped here because he's the only one who's able to open the door from the inside. If he left, no one could ever get in here again. You see, we've hidden the Spiritual Stones and the Ocarina of Time in the Sacred Realm, so Ganondorf couldn't get to them. Rarau knows not to let in anyone but me. That's how I was getting in and out."  
  
"So seven years have passed and Ganondorf's ruling Hyrule?"  
  
"Yes," said Navi. Link had never heard her sound so bitter.  
  
"All right, then," he said, his new voice returning to its old temper, "I now want you to explain to me why I've been lied to ten years of my life, which were hell, by the way, because I was different, about the fact that I was—am—Hylian."  
  
Great, thought Navi. Here comes the hard part. He's going to hate me....  
  
"I'm not sure where to start," she said truthfully, "So I guess I can do it from the beginning." Navi sighed. "This is so hard...okay, when you were born, seventeen years ago, it was to Hylian couple. Their names were Samuel and Alanai."  
  
Something clicked in Link's foggy brain.  
  
"Yeah, I know what you're thinking, and I don't have to read your thoughts this time. Those are the tombstones you saw in Kakariko...Goddesses, that seems like such a long time ago. And it was only a few days for you."  
  
"But—but Dampé said—that the whole family had been killed, even the baby boy...."  
  
"The entire world thought you died along with them. Once you were in the forest, well, it'd be impossible to find you, no one ever got in or even out unless the Deku Tree wanted them to."  
  
"So they're really...dead?" Link asked quietly.  
  
Navi nodded sorrowfully.  
  
"You're sure?" Link asked dejectedly. He had no memory of these people who were supposed to be his parents, but he felt a sense of grief all the same.  
  
"Yes, very sure. I...I saw the whole thing. I even helped your mother into the forest...."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"W-well, Link—"  
  
"No more lying," he said dangerously. "I want the truth this time."  
  
"Okay," she said shakily. She had started this, and it was time for her to finish it. She had lied to him, and he deserved the truth, now more than ever. She scanned her memory, and remembered what it had been like that day. Now that she was thinking about it again, she remembered clearly seeing Johan, and hearing the lullaby Link had played in the grave of the Composer Brothers. Now that she examined the memories she hadn't ever touched before out of fear, she remembered a lot of things she should have realized before....  
  
Navi drew a deep breath, settled onto Link's outstretched hand, and began to speak.  
  
"Seventeen years ago during the first Wars, I was living in the forest. I was young and stupid, so I went wandering off one day, to see the world. I got caught in the bloodiest battle of the Wars, the one that ended them, until seven years ago. That battle was when I met up with your parents. And with Ganondorf...."  
  
* * *  
  
Seventeen years ago, in the land of Hyrule....  
  
Navi crouched on the windowsill, looking in the small house of the Hylians. She could see a woman bending over a small child's crib. It was almost sunset, and the woman was trying to coax the child into sleep. The woman straightened up, and picked up an ivory ocarina with gold designs painted on it. She raised it to her lips and played a song to the child in the crib. Navi heard a beautiful song coming from it, one that soothed the child into a drowsy silence.  
  
Navi watched him drift off to sleep with fascination. When the woman put the ocarina down, she walked over to a table, opened a book, and began to write. She had hardly touched the pen to the paper when someone came into the room she was in, blocking her view. She moved over slightly.  
  
"Is he asleep, Alanai?" The man whispered. The woman, Alanai, nodded.  
  
"He's really fussy, though. I think he knows something is wrong, Sam."  
  
Before the man, Sam, could reply, a door burst open somewhere in the distance, startling the child, and another man came rushing in the now cramped room.  
  
"Johan, what are you doing here? I thought you were with the little Gerudo girl," Sam said.  
  
A Knight steadied himself against the far wall, panting. He had apparently ran the whole way. "Sam, there's another attack, on the Market this time," he said. "'Lanai," he said, using what was apparently an old nickname for the woman, "You'd better get Link out of here, I've already hidden Kylia, I don't want her to get hurt—"  
  
A loud bang cut off the rest of his words, and Navi jumped. She was scared now. She never wanted to be in a battle, she had only wanted to see what the outside world was like.  
  
Sam went to a closet in the corner, pulled the door open, and started pulling on the armor that was inside; Alanai started gathering up a few possessions, then took the baby out of the crib and wrapped him in a blue blanket. "Sam, I'm going to Lake Hylia, there's a path to the Zora's Domain from there, so I'm getting my Zora Tunic. Wear yours under all that armor, okay?" She looked scared. Sam gave a curt nod, and started pulling on the armor faster. Navi shifted nervously, still watching them.  
  
"I'm done," Sam announced from the corner after a few minutes of silence. Johan shot a quick glance at Alanai, who now looked terrified.  
  
"Go on, Johan," Sam said. "I'll be there in a minute. Start rounding up the rest of Knights for our attack. I wish we could have gotten the upper hand, but...." He trailed off, sighing. "We're going to have to use the strategy this time, brute force just isn't working," he said grimly.  
  
"Johan, is everyone else evacuating?" Alanai asked the Knight.  
  
"No, they're already gone. You should hurry." He gave a quick nod to both of them, even though he looked like he wanted to say more, and rushed out of the room.  
  
Sam walked over to Alanai, still holding the baby, and hugged her. "I love you, 'Lanai." He kissed the baby on the forehead. "Take care of him, okay? As soon as I can get away from the fighting, I'll see you two out of here."  
  
Alanai nodded. Sam walked out of the room, but stopped at the doorway. "Go on!" she said impatiently. "I can take care of myself!"  
  
Sam nodded and left, though rather reluctantly. Navi bit her lip ruefully as Alanai started crying, but she swallowed hard to stop the tears as the baby began to wake up. "Shh, Link, it's going to be okay," Alanai said, then ran out of the room holding the baby to her as tightly as if it were life itself. Navi followed Alanai out into the Market though the open window.  
  
The Market was a disaster. Gerudo women were fighting Hylians, and people were falling down, at the end of another's sword, and some of them did not get back up. Navi was disgusted at how the Gerudo were killing their victims; heads rolled everywhere and she felt as if she were going to be sick.  
  
Alanai was looking around the Market, and she looked exactly like Navi felt; as if she were going to be sick. There was something else on her face, however; pure terror. Navi could understand why. As the drawbridge came into view, she could see it was shut. That made sense, as to not let the intruders in, but it wasn't doing much good; Gerudo were steadily climbing over the walls with ropes and dropping down on the other side with their swords out and ready.  
  
Alanai just stood there, her mouth open in shock. Navi could see her mind was working furiously; how in the world was she going to get out of there?  
  
They both whirled around as a shout behind them echoed across the bloodstained Market.  
  
"Open the drawbridge!"  
  
Navi didn't recognize the man who had shouted the command, or the woman with him, who was most definitely pregnant, but from the way they were dressed, and from the looks of the white horses they were on, they could be no one else but the King and Queen of Hyrule. Navi ducked out of sight, afraid of being seen, as Alanai moved several paces backwards to let them through.  
  
The drawbridge creaked open, and the King and Queen left. The Queen looked as if she was in extreme pain. While the drawbridge was shutting, several Gerudo ran in the Market, and Alanai ran out. Navi followed, relieved. She did not want to have to fly over, where the Gerudo were.  
  
Again, the window whited before changing locations. Hyrule Field was worse than the Market had been. Warriors here were using weapons other than swords, and they were also riding horses. Many people not dressed in armor were running from the scene, like Alanai. She spun around fretfully, as if unsure which way to go.  
  
Navi couldn't blame her; every bit of the field was covered in bodies or blood, and she now saw the cannon that had cut off Johan's words back in the small bedroom being fired by Hylians. The King was lifting his wife onto his own horse a few paces away from Alanai, and Navi realized she was probably going into labor. As she watched, Sam came running up to the King, not seeing Alanai.  
  
"Your Highness, I ask that you please let me see my family to safety before I return and fight. I have an infant son I need to look after, as well as my wife, and I swear on my honor to be back as soon as they are safe," he said.  
  
The King stole a quick glance at his pale wife, then surveyed Sam. "Samuel, you're a good friend, and I know you wouldn't go back on your word. And I realize how important it is to you to protect Alanai, just like I have to protect Dareene, but...."  
  
"Your Majesty, please," Sam begged, looking pale. "I need to take care of them."  
  
"Let him go," gasped the Queen from on top of the white horse. The King nodded. "Very well, Sam, go, but lease hurry back once they're safe."  
  
Sam nodded gratefully, then looked around for Alanai. She ran up to him before he spotted her. Navi was now high up in the blood red sky, so she wouldn't be seen.  
  
Sam sighed in relief as his wife came running to him. "Come on," he said. "My horse was killed, but we can walk."  
  
"What about Johan?" Alanai asked. Sam looked around for his friend, who was riding on horseback, telling the soldiers something. After he had spoken, each of them fought for a moment longer, then either hid in the bushes or laid on the ground and stopped moving as if dead. Navi understood what they were doing at once; if the Gerudo thought the Hylians had all died, their guard would go down, and the soldiers could get up and attack, hopefully gaining the upper hand.  
  
"There's nothing we can do, Alanai, he has to stay here. Now come on, hurry." Sam took her hand and they weaved in and out of bodies and blood, Navi carefully following them from high above. She vaguely recognized the path they were taking; it lead to the forest. Her heart leapt. She could find the way home from here, she knew which way to go....  
  
But as Navi watched, the family turned and took another path at a fork, heading for somewhere else. She was torn. She wanted to follow them to see if they made it to safety, but what if she got lost again?  
  
Just then, from the trees near the forest entrance to their right, a band of Gerudo jumped in their path. Navi's eyes widened and she hid in the upper branches of a nearby tree. Alanai screamed and tried to turn the other way, but it was no good, they were surrounded from all sides. Sam drew his sword.  
  
"Sam, no!" Alanai whispered.  
  
"Listen to her," one of the Gerudo sneered, laughing. "She's so scared of us. But she's right. You don't have to fight us at all. Just give us that baby."  
  
Alanai turned, if it were possible, even paler. She clutched the baby to her. "No!"  
  
Sam, however, seemed to master himself, and asked through gritted teeth, "Why do you want him? He's only four months old, he can't do anything to you."  
  
Navi covered her mouth with her hands. Only four months? And out in the middle of this? No baby deserved that. No one did, no matter what their age.  
  
"We have orders to get the child of the Head Knight, and you're him, so hand over the baby, and no one gets hurt." The Gerudo paused. "Except for the baby, of course."  
  
Sam glared at her and the other four women. "Kill me," he sneered, in a tone that clearly stated he'd like to see them try.  
  
"Very well," said the woman. "Let's go!"  
  
Navi shut his eyes; she'd be satisfied if she never saw blood again, telling herself he was going to see this through and make sure the family got to safety. But Navi was so sick of blood...she would just wait a few minutes...for a few minutes, until the worst was over....  
  
But then Navi opened his eyes; she wasn't going to back down now, she had to see this through, that family might need help....  
  
There was only one Gerudo left now, the rest of them had fallen to the ground, unmistakably dead, although they were still in one piece. Alanai was holding the baby even more tightly to her. He began to wake again, crying softly. Alanai tore her eyes away from Sam to sing to the child, the same lullaby she had played in the bedroom ....  
  
Navi backed even further into the branches. The last Gerudo hit the ground with a sickening thud, and her gaze flew back to Sam, now in the middle of the thinned out trees.  
  
Sam was panting, and looking at the women on the ground with great remorse; apparently he hated killing, no matter who it was. He sheathed his sword and took Alanai's hand again, but before they could walk a step, a black horse galloped toward them, and circled, cutting off their path.  
  
Navi felt cold. She recognized that horse. And he recognized the rider. It was the King of Evil. The Deku Tree had warned her about this...why, oh why, hadn't she listened to him?  
  
The King of Evil dismounted the black horse, and started walking toward Sam and Alanai. Navi now knew why he was called what he was. His appearance was enough to frighten anyone to death, because it reeked of the evil, terror, pain, and every other bad emotion there was.  
  
"Give me the child," he snarled. Alanai clutched the crying baby to her, and moved closer to Sam. Navi cautiously moved forward on the branches, trying to see better.  
  
"No! You can't have him!" Alanai said. "He's only an infant, leave him alone!"  
  
The King of Evil sneered at her. "That 'infant' is going to be a lot more trouble than he's worth if I don't destroy him now. Don't you even know that if that kid grows up, he'll be legend? You can't save him, so just hand him over."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean there are all kind of prophecies about that baby." He snorted. "I think you of all people would know, being a prophet yourself."  
  
Alanai backed away. "H-how did you know that?"  
  
"I've been planning this for months, watching your every move. Don't you know anything? There's no hope in escape, just give him to me and you two might be spared."  
  
Navi didn't like the way he used the word might.  
  
The King of Evil looked up at the blood red sky and yelled something in Gerudo tongue. Instantly two guards appeared by his side.  
  
Sam seemed to be thinking very hard. His brow was furrowed, his eyes narrowed. He bit his lip. Then he pulled out his sword.  
  
"Alanai," he said slowly, "Run. Take Link with you, and get out of here as fast as you can. I don't care where you take him, just make sure that both of you are safe. I love you."  
  
"But—"  
  
"When he grows up, be sure to tell him that his father loved him, very much."  
  
Alanai started crying, and Navi trembled. Surely, he wasn't going to fight? "Sam, you can't be serious, please, come with me...."  
  
The King of Evil started laughing. "So, you're going to waste the rest of your life holding me off for all of ten minutes? How do you know I won't leave you and run after her?"  
  
Sam's grip tightened on the sword. "Because I'm not going to let you!" he shouted, running forward. In a flash, The King of Evil had whipped out a pair of Gerudo swords, and was engaged in battle. Every time he made a move toward Alanai, Sam blocked his path. Navi was in awe of his bravery.  
  
"Go!" Sam shouted at his wife. "Go!"  
  
Alanai took one last look at her husband, tears streaming down her face. Then she turned and ran. In the direction of the forest, Navi realized.  
  
"Get her!" the King of Evil yelled, dodging a blow from Sam's sword, and attacking in turn. Navi turned her eyes away just before Ganondorf plunged his sword in to Sam's chest. Choking back a sob of fright, she followed Alanai, darting through the trees like a firefly.  
  
The Gerudo couldn't run as nearly as fast as Alanai could, and they kept tripping over the rocks and limbs she soared over. When Alanai had gained ground, she stopped and put the baby on a nearby tree stump, and drew out a bow and arrow.  
  
Alanai aimed and fired, and her aim was true; it hit on Gerudo on the shoulder, but not near enough to kill. She looked as though she couldn't make herself kill another human, as much as she wished these women who were trying to take her child dead. The Gerudo fell to the ground in pain, but her companion didn't stop. She drew out a bow and arrow of her own, and aimed it at the baby.  
  
Alanai gasped, and grabbed the child off of the stump just in time, dropping her bow and arrows. Navi realized she was now defenseless. The Gerudo woman fired again, but missed. Her arrow hit Alanai, but on the leg, not the heart. Alanai cried out on pain, and started running again. But she was slowing down. There must have been poison in the arrow.  
  
Navi bit her lip. She knew what had to be coming, and she didn't want to see it, but she knew that she may still be able to save the baby. It had finally dawned on her what she could do to help them, but did she dare? Surely the Deku Tree would be mad at her already for wandering off, did she want to risk making him even more angry? But Navi decided it was more than worth it. After all, that baby had to be important, if that man wanted him so much...maybe he was the path to peace.  
  
The Gerudo woman had finally caught up with Alanai. They were standing outside the entrance to the forest now, and the trees were very thick.  
  
"That's got poison in it," the woman said, indicating the arrow. "You've got about fifteen minutes to live, if you're lucky." She held up a small bottle. "This is the antidote. Want to trade? Give me the baby, and this bottle's all yours."  
  
Alanai stared at her with a look of disgust on her face, then her eyes widened for a second. Navi saw the look that the Gerudo missed; Alanai had just figured out a way to get out of this. She set the child down on the ground, and the Gerudo moved toward him triumphantly.  
  
It all happened in one quick movement. While the Gerudo bent down to pick up the baby, Alanai grabbed a large stick from the ground and hit the thief over the head. The woman collapsed, unconscious, and Navi could hear the breaking of glass. The bottle was crushed.  
  
Tears ran down Alanai's face. "I don't know where to hide him, Sam," she whispered. "And I haven't got long left to figure it out." She picked up the baby boy and began singing to him. He had been crying the whole time.  
  
Alanai looked around, and saw the hollow log that lead into the forest. The sky was darkening now. It been thundering all day, but now the lightning flashed and the rain came down in buckets. This wasn't a bad rain, however; Navi felt it as cleansing, and suddenly knew the battle was over, and the Hylians had won. She could almost see the blood being washed away from the earth.  
  
Alanai ran for the log, drenched. Navi could tell she thought it might be a home to some wild animal, because she didn't go in very far. She continued singing to the baby for a moment, then looked up at the drenched sky. "What am I going to do?" she sobbed.  
  
Navi knew now was the time to do something. That woman was going to die, and she wanted so badly for her child to be safe. Even her husband was dead now. The baby would have no one left. "Come on, there's a place you can go, near here," Navi said from the tree branches.  
  
Alanai jumped, looking around. "What in the world? Who said that?"  
  
Navi flew in the log, and her light illuminated Alanai's tear stained face. "I'm Navi," she said. "I live in the forest near here. I was watching you, ever since you left your house. I shouldn't be out here," she admitted, looking guilty, "But I was stupid and went wandering off. I'm not supposed to let outsiders in the forest, but...you really need help, don't you?"  
  
Alanai nodded tearfully. "Yes, I do. I have to hide Link before...." Alanai trailed off, indicating the arrow in her leg. She reached down and yanked it out, but the arrowhead stayed in. She looked drained; Navi could tell the poison was already taking effect.  
  
"Come to the forest," Navi said firmly, sure now that the Deku Tree would have mercy on this woman. "It's through here, c'mon."  
  
Navi lead the way and Alanai followed. It was dark now, and the light from the moon was blocked out by the leaves, but the air itself glowed to make vision possible. It was still raining, but under the canopy of trees, only a few raindrops touched the ground.  
  
Navi flew to the path leading to the Great Deku Tree, Link recognized it all too well, it seemed only days ago that Mido pushed him away from there, taunting him...yet it had been seven years....  
  
"Hurry," Alanai whispered. "I can feel it...." Navi was fighting tears, and could tell Alanai was too, she had to be overwhelmed feelings of helplessness and fear. They reached the Deku Tree quickly, owing to the fact that they were moving as fast as Alanai's injured leg would carry her.  
  
"Great Deku Tree," Navi said, "Are you awake?"  
  
"How could I not be, Navi, with the presence of war outside our forest walls? We have been looking everywhere for you, where have you been?"  
  
"I ventured outside. I'm very sorry."  
  
"Navi," the tree chided. "You shouldn't have done that, you could have been killed."  
  
"I know, but there are...more pressing matters at hand. I brought an outsider...."  
  
"What do you mean by this?" the tree asked sharply.  
  
Alanai walked forward, shaking and pale. "I...p-please, my baby, Link, h-he needs to be taken care of. His f-father is..." —the word came out in a broken cry— "...dead—and I'm p-poisoned, and h-he doesn't have anyone else. P...please let h-him stay here, t-take care of him... King of Evil...wanted to k-kill him...." Alanai's breaths were coming in short, painful gasps now, and Navi felt her heart break in two. "Said...he w-was destined...for s-something...and he's the one...the one...who w-will defeat the King of Evil...I'm s-sure of it...or he w-wouldn't want him d-dead." She fell to her knees, holding the baby tighter than ever.  
  
"I have heard these prophecies," the tree said wearily. "And I believe you. If this is truly the child, he may stay. If you turn out to be wrong, I will put him to death. Are you certain he is the one?" Navi knew the Deku Tree would do no such thing, but was testing the Alanai's honesty.  
  
"Y-yes...."  
  
"Very well. Do you have any last requests?" the tree asked kindly.  
  
Alanai appeared to be thinking hard. Her eyes were closed, and she was crying again. "Take care of him...and...." She gasped for air. "Please," she whispered, "I-I want to b-be next to my...h-husband. Can you take me...back to him?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
Navi wept as Alanai drew in her last breath. Never had she seen someone with so much courage, or someone with such selfless love for another.  
  
A band of fairies Navi recognized as her brothers and sisters came out from the tree's branches, all greeting Navi warmly, then looking at the woman on the ground, still holding the crying child.  
  
"You know where to take her," said the tree. "He will be the only man near the forest."  
  
The fairies clustered around Alanai, and lifted her off the ground so that the baby fell gently out of her arms, and exited the forest over the treetops.  
  
"Navi, kindly summon Saria from her home. She will be irritated at being woken in such a late hour, but please tell her I need to see her, and it is urgent," said the Deku Tree.  
  
"Yes, Great Deku Tree."  
  
Navi flew as fast as she could go back into the Kokiri Forest, looking around at the tree stumps for the one with pink markings. She was going so fast she didn't watch which way she was flying, and ran headlong into a thick wooden fence. She yelped in pain, cursing, then shook her head to get rid of the stars in front of her eyes.  
  
Navi finally spotted Saria's house, not too far from where she was. She turned around and dived toward it, flying through the curtained door so fast she heard it rip. She ignored the damage, however, and flew straight to the ten year old girl with curly, green hair, who was sleeping peacefully.  
  
"Hey!" Navi yelled, yanking on Saria's ears, "Wake up, Saria! You have to go see the Deku—whoa!" Navi yelped, Saria turned over in her sleep and swatted at Navi.  
  
"Please wake up, it's really important! If you don't come the baby might die!" Navi let out a little gasp then, and though Link couldn't see through her light, he was sure she had just covered her mouth with both hands. Navi looked at Saria a moment longer, then dived inside of what looked like a lit lamp. However, it didn't hold fire, it held a pale yellow-orange fairy by the name of Ellen.  
  
"Ellen, wake up!" Navi hissed, dragging her sister up out of the lamp. "I can't get Saria out of bed!"  
  
"Navi?" the fairy mumbled drowsily. "What're you doing here? I thought you'd wandered off and gotten hurt."  
  
"Well, I did wander off, but that's another story," Navi said hurriedly. "You have to get Saria out of bed, the Deku Tree wants to see her—"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Just hurry, it's really important!"  
  
"All right...." Ellen said doubtfully. She flew over to the bed, and, with assistance from Navi, yanked the blankets covering Saria. Saria shivered, then woke up.  
  
"What's going on?" she asked sleepily, as Ellen hovered around her head.  
  
"The Deku Tree wants you, now c'mon!" Navi said, exasperated. Why were they all so slow? Didn't they realize it was urgent, especially since it was the Deku Tree that summoned them? They had to hurry! It was cold and dark, and the baby had been out in the rain, too....  
  
Saria's eyes widened. "The Deku Tree? Really?"  
  
"Yes," Navi said as Saria quickly changed out of her nightgown and into her normal clothing. The fairies landed on either of her shoulders and she raced down the path to the Deku Tree's meadow. When she got there, she screeched to an abrupt halt that nearly threw Navi off her shoulder.  
  
"Y-you wanted to see me, Great Deku Tree?" Saria said shakily.  
  
"Yes, Saria...I need you take care of this baby boy. He has just been born of the forest's spirits. You must look after him, no matter how difficult it may be."  
  
"I-I will. But I don't understand...."  
  
"No, not now, you don't. But look after him. You will. He may occupy the empty tree stump with the ladder, when he is old enough. Good luck."  
  
"Yes, Great Deku Tree. Thank you."  
  
Saria picked up the baby and kissed it on the forehead, walking away. Then she stopped, and turned around. "Great Deku Tree? What's the baby's name?"  
  
The old tree was silent for a moment, and Navi realized he didn't know. "Link," she said. "His name is Link."  
  
Saria nodded quietly, and then turned to go down the path once more, talking to the child the whole way. "Okay, then, Link," she said softly, "We're gonna take you down to my house, and get you warmed up, and put some dry clothes, you're soaked. And then if you're hungry you can have something to eat. Shh, you don't need to fuss, now, I'll take care of you...." Her voice echoed down the path, growing softer and softer, until it eventually died away.  
  
"Navi," the old tree said after a few moments of silence, "You have brought this child here. You must never let him out of your sight. Watch him, Navi, until his time of destiny comes. I know his mother would not sentence him to death by lying of his fate. No, Navi, he has a destiny, as do you, now. Watch over him."  
  
"Yes, Great Deku Tree." Navi left the meadow in silence, and went to find Saria's house once more.  
  
Looking back, Navi would always remember that day as the day she had grown up. The time when her life had been changed, when she was no longer young and naïve, but more mature, more wise than she had been before. The next ten years of her life had taken such an unexpected turn, she had lived Link's life instead of her own; she had suffered with him when he was being taunted and teased, and felt happy and proud, as he had, when he got the best of someone, or when he did something perfectly. She had gotten angry at Mido for being mean to him, and was grateful to Saria for being his friend.  
  
And then, for the last seven years, she still had not let Link out of her sight, not for more than a few days, anyway. She realized with a start that the entire time Link had existed, he had been the center of everything she did. And with another start, she realized that was what a guardian fairy did, and she felt a swell of pride; Kokiri or not, not only did Link have his very own fairy partner, he had a friend. Navi didn't care if they fought or got mad at each other, she'd stick to him like glue, because that really is what friends are for.  
  
Notes: Yeah, my head hurts. It'll get better soon, I promise. The problem is if I get rid of cheesy it turns sappy. Well, cy'all, PLEASE review with advice, and hope the next one will have all the crap worked out of it. 


	12. Chapter Sixteen: The New Hyrule

Author's note: Holy Nayru! Chapter Sixteen! I'm finally getting somewhere! This is awesome! And the cheesy is gone! (I hope. The whole damn story seems melodramatic to me.) Thankies thankies for reviews, pplz. I hope you like the chap, I might get s'more. I know this ends in sort of a cliffhanger, but I had already done this chap and half of the next before I realized it would be too long, so the wait won't be terrible. (I hope.) Anyway, I hope you like the chap. (You notice that rhymes with crap? So fitting!)  
  
Chapter Sixteen: The New Hyrule  
  
Silence followed Navi's story. Link had been looking at his boots the whole time.  
  
"Link?" Navi asked cautiously. "Are...are you mad at me?"  
  
Link thought about it. Yes, he was mad, he was furious. For all his life, all of it that he could remember, anyway, he'd been teased by Mido, first for being small, then for not having a fairy. If Navi had been watching him for his whole life the least she could have done was to stick with him and be his fairy then, when he didn't have one. Still, she'd had her orders, and her reasons.  
  
He wanted to be mad at something, or someone, but he couldn't be mad at Navi. True, it was her fault, but she had basically saved his life, when he was far too young to defend himself. If she hadn't done it, he'd be dead. He couldn't be mad at the Deku Tree, because it was his doing that Link was allowed in the forest. He couldn't be mad at Saria, she didn't even know the truth.  
  
He certainly couldn't be mad at Johan. Johan hadn't known, either. Link's brain was slowly putting the pieces together, and he wondered why he hadn't asked Johan before why he was acting strangely. It was still hard to believe that the peaceful man living in an underground inn used to be a Knight.  
  
Link sighed. He couldn't be mad at anyone, because it wasn't anyone's fault. And he still felt furious.  
  
"Link?" Navi asked timidly.  
  
He sighed again. "I dunno. I'm mad, but not at you. I don't know who I'm mad at."  
  
Well, at least he wasn't going to explode at her. She vowed right there to be nicer to him from now on, and to stop barging in on his thoughts.  
  
Link's anger was ebbing away into a quiet sadness. He was a Hylian. They had families. At least, most of them did; he was the exception. Why was he sad at the loss of someone he couldn't remember? His anger flared again. It wasn't fair! No family, hardly any friends, then losing seven years of his life. Where was the justice in that?  
  
With a start, Link realized he was feeling sorry for himself. He gave himself a mental shake; that definitely wasn't the way to go. It hadn't helped him before, when he was picked on, and it certainly wasn't going to help him now. He stood up off the bed, and walked over to where his weapons were at.  
  
"Are you okay?" Navi asked in a small voice.  
  
"I dunno. I'm not now, but I will be." Link picked up his Kokiri Sword and Deku shield, shocked at how small they seemed.  
  
"Navi, what am I going to fight with? Half of this stuff is too little for me now."  
  
"Well, you have the Master Sword. I guess you don't have a shield anymore though, because you left your old one in the—" She broke off, sounding upset.  
  
"What?"  
  
"W-well, there's something I've...uh, forget to tell you. Y-you see, when I started, well, leaving the Sacred Realm, the first place I went to was the Inn, to find Johan...."  
  
Link's heart started thumping painfully fast. "Yeah?"  
  
"Well, uh, he...wasn't there." When Link said nothing, she continued. "It's, ah, been...attacked."  
  
"WHAT?" Link shouted. "Is he okay? Was anyone there?"  
  
"N-no, the whole place was messed up. It looks like they tried to burn a lot of it, but that didn't work too well because it was underground...most of it's okay, except it look like a tornado hit it. A lot of it's broken, but the only place the fire really hit was the front room, and a little of the kitchen. Well, and some of the hall, too, but we can still walk through, so we're not stuck. I didn't see a soul there, though. I've been kinda worried about them. I mean, Johan would come back, wouldn't he?"  
  
"I can't believe this. Can anything else happen today?"  
  
Navi laughed weakly. "Today? I guess it seems like a day to you, doesn't it?" She sighed. "The Market is just as bad, except worse. It's got several new residents," she said darkly. "We can get a shield at Kakariko, that's the only place left where there's some sanity. It's really terrible...."  
  
Link turned back to his weapons, piled at the door. He could still use his Deku Nuts, and his bombs...his fairy ocarina was too little for him now, but he put it in his pocket anyway. That seemed to be all...well, he could still use his map, he hadn't learned his way around completely yet....  
  
The map was lying facedown at the bottom of the pile. Link picked it up, and looked at it for a little while, staring at the blank space where the forest was supposed to be. He smiled faintly, remembering how utterly stupid he'd been, needing a map to find his way around everywhere, and how lucky he was that Johan had given it to him, and remembered what Johan had told him. "One of my best friends drew this for me...he never knew about the forest, so he couldn't draw it in. Maybe you could one day."  
  
Link folded up the map, and started to put it in his pocket, then spotted something on the back corner; in faint writing that was barely visible, there was a single handwritten word: Samuel.  
  
Link stared at it for a minute, and then he felt a small, hard lump rise in his throat. To keep the dignity he had left, Link roughly shoved the map in his pocket without mentioning it to Navi, angry at himself for letting it affect him so much.  
  
"C'mon," he said, gruffly. Navi shot him a what's-the-matter look, but she stayed out of his thoughts, still grateful that he wasn't angry at her.  
  
Link picked up the few weapons he could use, and then headed through the door, not even wondering what he would find there. He felt an oddly detached from the world around him. Somehow, it was like listening to a story he had heard a hundred times over; he simply didn't care, and it thoroughly scared him, but he could not find enough emotion within himself to do anything about it.  
  
The door slid open, and Link found himself in a room full of nothing. The was blackness above him, and blackness below him. He was standing on the on a landing in front of the door, the one of the only solid things there, if it could be called solid, being made of light. In front of him, there was a long, narrow pathway that seemed to lead into eternity itself, but Link wasn't sure this was solid either; it too was made of blue light.  
  
"It's okay, you can walk on it," Navi said, her voice echoing away into nothingness. She hadn't read his thoughts; the way he was looking at the pathway was enough. "It's not as long as it seems, either. This place is full of illusions, to confuse intruders." As she spoke, the path seemed to move slightly, of its own accord, and a stairway leading down appeared to his right.  
  
"It really is confusing, I've always had to walk, or fly low to the ground." The staircase shifted itself upward, and spiraled, and two more pathways came out of the first one, which continued to move, almost as if it were restless.  
  
"Be careful to keep your eye on the main path, if we take the wrong one and it disappears, we'll fall. The creepy thing is, the ceiling and the floor are combined. Look...." Navi drew out one Deku Nut from his pocket, and threw it into the dark abyss below. It became a tiny speck quickly, and vanished from sight. Link strained his ears to hear it hit something below, but it didn't. A moment later, it came down from above them, in the same place, and fell to the bottom again.  
  
"Great," Link murmured, and he gave an involuntary shiver. She was right...it was creepy...he didn't want to imagine what it would feel like to be in that Deku Nut's place; everyone was afraid of falling from a great height because of the effects of the impact when they would eventually hit the surface below. But looking at the Deku Nut, falling down this dark void over and over, he thought he would much rather fall from any height and hit the bottom, than not hit the bottom at all...he tore his eyes away from the sight, and looked at the many sloping paths before him. He realized some had moved, turned into staircases, sloped themselves up and down, forked, disappeared, spiraled, and even looped upside down so that they were impossible to walk on. Which one had been the main path again?  
  
Link looked them all over, trying to spot the one that didn't disappear. There were two or three that kept moving, but never went away. But that was too many. There was only one correct choice, and if he chose wrongly...the Deku Nut fell through the air next to him, and he could feel his emotions returning. He turned to go back in the door, thinking he could just start over, and keep his eyes on the right path this time, but when his eyes fell upon the space that the door was supposed to be at, it had disappeared.  
  
"Damn," he said, and for once, Navi didn't lecture. She had been thinking along those same lines. She swore too, and Link stared at her.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I thought you were always lecturing me about my language."  
  
"I hear so much of it in the wasteland that's supposed to be Hyrule it just comes naturally."  
  
Link didn't want to think about it; if swearing came naturally to Navi, what was next?  
  
He was now standing upon a small island of blue light, and the paths around him were constantly changing. They grew out from every direction, and twisted themselves around and around...Link realized with a jolt that he was in the middle of one of the deadliest labyrinths that had ever existed. Beside him, the Deku Nut was gaining more and more speed as it fell, until finally it shattered into a hundred pieces; it could only go so fast, could only take so much velocity. Yet the pieces also fell downward, into the endless black....  
  
Again, Link strained his eyes to locate the oaths that were not vanishing from sight, with Navi's help. Again, he found two paths that didn't seem to want to vanish while he laid eyes on them. Well, he had to chose one or the other...before it got worse....  
  
Bravely, he put a foot on one of the paths, and immediately the landing behind him turned into a staircase the spiraled up so far that it came up from below them, so that it looked like two separate paths. Link groaned.  
  
"C'mon," said Navi, "Let's hurry, it's never been this quiet before, and I've never had to deal with so many paths."  
  
"That's probably because you don't waste time like I do," Link said, his voice dripping with innocent sarcasm.  
  
Navi shook her head, grinning, and sat on his shoulder. She had missed being with someone else; it had been seven long years since she and Link had bickered over trivial things and fussed at each other about language and bad habits, seven very long years indeed.  
  
Link walked along the path into the silence. His footsteps made no sound, and every once in awhile he would cough or clear his throat to make sure he hadn't gone deaf. The path seemed to be the right one; although it moved, it never did anything that made it impossible to walk on, or vanished.  
  
Suddenly the path under him began to rumble. Link assumed it was moving again, and stopped walking. Then he noticed that the blue light was getting dimmer and dimmer; the path was vanishing.  
  
Link looked down, then at Navi. "Oh, Goddesses...." He felt as if he was sinking into soft dirt, and knew that when the light vanished he'd fall. Looking around desperately, Link saw one of the other paths that hadn't seemed to move. At least, he thought that was where it had been...Link decided that the unknown was better than falling for eternity, and jumped over to the neighboring path just in time.  
  
Link skidded to a halt on the other path, just barely keeping his balance. Then a door materialized in front of him.  
  
"Oh, good," Navi said. "This was the right one, then." She settled back on Link's shoulder, feeling ruffled; that jump of his had nearly thrown her off. Link stretched his hand out, and pulled the handle.  
  
The room was full of the same black nothing as the one before it, but there were no deadly paths of light here, just very large one flat pillar, which they were standing on top of. In the middle, there was a large stone circle on the floor, with the symbol of the Triforce on it. Around the Triforce symbol, there were six different medals that were large enough for a horse to stand on.  
  
Link walked onto the Triforce symbol, looking around at the medals. There was a yellow one, and a green one...he turned to see the rest of them better...red, blue...purple, and orange, and back to yellow....  
  
Link yelped. Standing on the yellow medal was a man with orange robes on. He looked ancient, yet there was no presence of feebleness in him. His hair was whiter than a skull, and most of it was located on his bushy mustache, because he was almost completely bald.  
  
"Don't do that to me," Link said shakily. "Who're you?"  
  
Navi laughed quietly from Link's shoulder. "This is Rauru, Link."  
  
"Oh," Link said. He still didn't get it; who was Rauru; and what was a sage?  
  
Seeing the look on Link's face, Navi said, "Link, Rauru's a sage, he the sage of the Light Temple, which is where we're at."  
  
"That's wonderful, but what's a sage?"  
  
"A sage, lad," said Rauru, "Is someone chosen by the Goddesses to protect their temple in times of destruction, when evil is threatening the world."  
  
Link stared at him. He'd heard that voice before....  
  
"Who are you?" he asked.  
  
"I told you, Link, he's Rauru," said Navi, her tone of voice sounding very baffled.  
  
"No! Well, yeah, he is—but I've met him somewhere...before...."  
  
Rauru chuckled. "You might know me as Kaepora Gaebora. In times of peace, I am free to leave the Temple, but I usually choose to do so in my animal form, as humans who are supposed to be dead attract quite a bit of attention."  
  
No kidding, Link thought, remembering Johan. "Why are you supposed to be dead?" he asked.  
  
"Ah. I thought you would ask that. I was once a wise man of Hyrule, a very long time ago. There were seven of us, and we each held a different element. My element was life, so I learned magic that would lengthen one's life, or save it from fatal injuries. One of my experiments went wrong one day, and instead of using the magic to help others who were sick or injured, it made me immortal. I 'died' peacefully in my sleep at the age of ninety-seven, leaving a clone in my place. You see, if people knew of magic that gave one immortality, they would want to obtain it, and there are far too many ways for that to go wrong, and I wasn't sure if I could. I traveled the land and studied magic further, and helped people with my research, though I never stayed in any one place for too long."  
  
Rauru sighed. "However, when evil threatens this land of Hyrule, the six legendary sages, chosen by the Goddesses themselves, must protect their Temples, which each guard a medallion of a particular element. Once long ago, Hyrule was in a time of peril, and I was called to this Temple. I remained here until I discovered my ability to transform into an owl. Then I traveled the land in my other form, until evil arose again, seven years ago."  
  
"Link, you are in the Light Temple, the hardest by far to reach, because it is located here in the Sacred Realm. I have the Light Medallion, something that Ganondorf wanted very much"  
  
"Why'd he want it?" Link asked.  
  
"Because the six medallions together have the power to open a gate to a chamber in the Sacred Realm from which one can never escape. The Master Sword and the Ocarina of Time are also needed."  
  
"Not asking for a lot, are you?" Link said sarcastically. "How're some stupid medallions gonna open the Sacred Realm?"  
  
"Not the medallions, boy, the sages! One cannot work without the other. The plan to use the Triforce to get rid of Ganondorf failed because too many things could have gone wrong, and the legends were too unclear. Not to mention it was being planned by ten year olds."  
  
Link glared and opened his mouth to say something, but Navi cut him off. "Rauru, we both know Link's really mature for his age, and I told you that it wasn't even his idea! Zelda came up with it."  
  
Rauru looked like he wanted to argue, but settled for saying, "Fine, if you say so. At any rate, this plan either works or it doesn't. There are no loopholes or unclear areas, and I know for certain because I've been checking on it for about seven years."  
  
"Okay, so, tell me how this works."  
  
"You must awaken all six sages, so that they may give you the medallions. Then you, as the Hero of Time, must keep Ganondorf at bay long enough for the seventh sage, whose identity is currently unknown, to open the gate with the help of the other sages. He will have no power to resist."  
  
"But what about the Triforce?"  
  
"If it is united before he is sealed away, a wish can be made. If it is not, the pieces will stay separate forever."  
  
"That's bad, right?"  
  
"Yes, it is, so you'll need to find the holder of the Triforce of Wisdom, and the holder of the Triforce of Courage. I'm fairly certain that Zelda has the Triforce of Wisdom, but I do not yet know who has the Triforce of Courage...though I have a faint idea."  
  
"Great. Just perfect."  
  
"All of the sages are currently trapped within their temples, so you'll need to rescue them to get the medallions. I am sure you have met all of the sages, but be careful in Hyrule, Link. Ganondorf has turned it into an utter wasteland, and there are enemies everywhere. The land is full of lone travelers who seek help or peace, and full of wandering thieves who will stop at nothing to get money or food."  
  
"I'll be sure to keep that in mind."  
  
"You're not taking me seriously! Half of Hyrule's races are gone, the forests burned, the waters frozen, the mountains reduced to ash, and we must stop it before it gets worse."  
  
Link's heart jumped into his throat. "What do you mean? The Zoras? The Gorons? The Kokiri?"  
  
"They have been reduced to a few lone survivors."  
  
Saria! What happened to her? Link thought. I have to get out of here, now! I have to see if she's okay.  
  
"Fine, I'll do this thing. Now lemme outta here, before I practice using this sword on your head."  
  
"Very well," Rauru said coolly. "Take the Light Medallion with you. And good luck." Rauru took off the Light Medallion and tossed it to Link.  
  
"Yeah, thanks," Link said, catching the medallion and putting it around his own neck, under the tunic.  
  
Navi got up from Link's shoulder and flew over to Rauru. "Okay, let us out of here. We're going to find the sages."  
  
Rauru gave a curt nod, and the room around them changed, it was full of blinding white light, which was slowly turning blue. When it had finally died down, Link could see they were still in the Temple of Time.  
  
"Has it really been seven years?" Link asked aloud. His gaze traveled to the stained glass windows, which were dirty and cracked, then to the sky outside, which was full of thunderclouds and was occasionally flashing lightning.  
  
Link groaned. "Don't tell me it's going to rain."  
  
"No," Navi said quietly, "Hyrule hasn't had any rain for about two years. Once Ganondorf figured out how to control the weather he took that away too." She flew off of his shoulder and up to the higher windows above them. "It's a mess out there. It's so hard to believe all this is happening...oh, Link, I didn't think you'd ever wake up. I thought I'd be going in and out of the Temple of Time for the rest of my life, I thought it would never end."  
  
Link didn't say anything. It truly felt like a few hours difference to him, and, once again, the world would think he was dead. He had known that when Navi had explained to him that seven years had passed. But hearing her talk like that...it had truly registered just then. What would the world be like, outside of the Temple? What had happened to the people, to Hyrule's races, in seven years of living hell, without any hope or comfort?  
  
"Well, we should get going," Navi said after a few moments of silence. Link nodded, and walked back across the room, his footsteps once again echoing in the silence.  
  
He passed through the doorway, noting how much smaller it seemed now, and looked down at the altar, now empty. He was busy examining it when he heard footsteps behind him.  
  
"About time."  
  
Link yelped and whirled around, painfully aware that he had no shield.  
  
Behind him stood a tall figure dressed in blue and white. The only part of their body not covered in cloth was the eyes, and they were blood red. A small amount of dirty blond hair could be seen coming out from under the mask, and there was a picture of an eye on the figure's chest. Was this a Shekiah?  
  
"Who're you?"  
  
"That's a good question," the figure said scathingly, "but a better one is, who are you? You look like Link...but he's dead."  
  
"I'm not dead...how did you know my name?"  
  
"We'll call it original research," the figure said. "I really don't think you're Link—after all, you could be one of Ganon's minions, disguised—but if you are Link, you can prove it." The figure's voice was muffled by all the cloth, Link couldn't even tell if it was a guy or girl.  
  
"Oh, yeah? How?" Link asked cautiously. He didn't think this person wanted to hurt him, but he wasn't about to take any chances.  
  
"Oh, it's simple, really. Just show me the Master Sword. After all, nothing evil can touch it, and nothing can make a copy of it, no matter how powerful."  
  
Link drew the sword out from its sheath and held it out to the figure, but kept his grip tight. The figure walked up to it, as if wary of some trick, but backed away after laying eyes on the sword, eyes wide.  
  
"It's you? You're Link? But how? You...you died...seven years ago...."  
  
"I'm not dead, I told you! But I'm not telling you anything until you tell me who you are."  
  
"You can call me Sheik," the figure said. "Actually...." Sheik walked quickly toward the room where Link had just come from.  
  
"What?" Link said.  
  
"Get in here, that way magic can't see us."  
  
Link looked at Navi. She looked back, shrugging. Link followed Sheik back into the room where he'd came from, wondering what was going on.  
  
"Actually, you can call me Zelda."  
  
Navi gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. Link took a step back. A blinding white light filled the room, and when it died down, the Princess of Hyrule was standing in front of him. She looked down at herself and cursed. "I knew it," she muttered. She looked up at Link. "If I ever find a place that magic cant see, I change back to Zelda."  
  
Link and Navi were still gaping at her.  
  
"Of course, I did it on purpose that time, but I could feel it starting to happen. What's the matter with you two?"  
  
Navi flew in slow circles around Zelda's head while Link continued to gape. "D'you know I've been looking for you for four years?"  
  
Zelda bit her lip. "Yes, I do, but I can only reveal my identity to the Hero of Time. You just happened to be here." She sighed, squinting at the floor. "I'd also like to apologize for the way...I used to act." It was apparent this had been on her mind a long time, because she looked a little more relaxed after saying it.  
  
Link just continued to gape at her; he shocked to find her alive, well, fending for herself, and masterfully disguised instead of lost, alone, and hurt.  
  
"What?" she snapped, sounding very much like she had during their last meeting.  
  
Link shot her a glare. He hated being snapped at. "Nothing, Your High—" but before he could finish his sentence, she had slapped him.  
  
"My name," she said, "is Zelda. Or Sheik. But not anything royal. Not anymore. If you think I'm the princess of this junkyard then you've got another think coming, because this place is a living hell and I don't want anything to do with it until I've put it right. I'm sorry I slapped you, okay? But I am not," she said slowly, "a princess."  
  
"Well excuuuse me." Link resisted the urge to call her a princess again, but he couldn't stop himself from thinking to Navi, She sure acts like a princess.  
  
Lay off, Link, Navi thought back at him.  
  
"So what's our cover story?" Zelda asked abruptly.  
  
"Say again?"  
  
"Our cover story," she said slowly, "We have to have an excuse for you coming to help me put Hyrule right. Several people around here know Sheik, and he's always alone, he doesn't like company."  
  
"Oh, right. That cover story."  
  
Navi noticed what Link didn't; Zelda was biting back a smirk with extreme difficulty.  
  
"Well, everyone thinks I'm dead," Link said slowly, resisting the urge to add the word "again" on the end of the sentence. "So that's not really going to do wonders for staying out of suspicions."  
  
"No, I guess not."  
  
"But why are we hiding from them? What'd they do to Hyrule anyway?" All three of them knew perfectly well that "them" was Ganondorf and his Gerudo soldiers.  
  
"It's awful," Zelda said. "Gerudo come through the village at least three times a week, and if anyone shows signs of trying to rally the villagers into rebellion, or if they disobey the 'laws' that the Gerudo set down, then they get taken away, and you don't ever see them again." Her voice shook. "Unless you go into the Market. Didn't you get the chance to meet our new...residents?" Zelda added, directing the question at Navi.  
  
Navi nodded. "That's sick," she whispered. "That's where the Redeads came from?" She shuddered.  
  
"There are Redeads in the Market?" Link asked.  
  
"More than I can count. And the number gets higher every day," Zelda said bitterly. "Sheik doesn't live at the village, thank Nayru, or he'd be in the Market too. Everyone knows he works against Ganondorf."  
  
"So then where does Sheik live? And why are we referring to him in third person?"  
  
"Because it's good for secrecy. And he lived at Lon Lon Ranch with a man named Poetrader until—"  
  
"I know Poetrader! I know him! He was at the place I used to stay at! At the Inn!" Link turned to Navi, who fluttered down onto his shoulder. "Navi, maybe he knows what happened to Johan."  
  
"Maybe," she said, sounding doubtful.  
  
"The problem is," Zelda said, "We can't go to Lon Lon Ranch anymore. We have no place to stay. I—well, Sheik—he's been having to wander around, sleeping under trees, because he can't go to the village."  
  
"But why can't we go to the ranch?"  
  
"One of Talon's ranch hands stole the ranch from him abut six months ago, and I have no idea what he's been doing to poor Malon. He won't let her leave, but he kicked Talon out. I hope you have a horse, Link, because we can't get one now. The ranch hand charges insane prices for any horse, just to borrow it, and to keep one you'd need at least a million rupees."  
  
Link cursed. "I haven't got a horse. Listen, did the other guy leave? Poetrader?"  
  
"I don't know. Sheik tried to get Malon out, but the ranch hand, his name's Ingo, he went and tattled to a Gerudo guard so now Sheik's a wanted man, charged with attempted kidnap." Zelda laughed harshly. "I imagine you're on Ganon's wanted list, too. He's got a reward out for anyone wearing Kokiri clothing, dead or alive. I bet he knows what a threat you are. Before, I couldn't do much alone. I could give a rupee to the poor, or deliver food to a starving family, but I couldn't really do anything. But now you're here, and we can both do something! We can put Ganon where he belongs! We can make Hyrule right again!"  
  
"Yeah, we can. Of course, Navi'll have to come with us."  
  
"Did you even have to ask me?" Navi flew up from his shoulder and hovered next to Zelda. "We'd better get going. Where to first?"  
  
Link desperately wanted to go to the forest to make sure Saria was all right, but as Zelda had pointed out, they had no place to stay, and Link didn't even have a horse. He was sure both of these problems could be solved by going to Lon Lon Ranch, and even though he wanted to check on Saria more than anything, he couldn't help her if he had to go everywhere on foot and had no place to live that was out of range of Gerudo guards. Besides, he might find Poetrader, and learn about what had happened to Johan, if Johan was still alive. Link vowed right there that if Ganondorf had killed Johan, he would have hell to pay; not only was Johan the only person left who had known Link's parents, he was Link's friend.  
  
With a sigh, Link said, "I really want to go to the forest, but it's a better idea to go to Lon Lon Ranch first."  
  
Zelda gave a quick nod. "You're right, you need a horse. We'll have to go the forest anyway, though, because one of the sages lives there."  
  
"Never mind about that, I want to see Saria!"  
  
"Who's Saria?"  
  
"She's my best friend, she lives in the forest, and I'm worried about her, but I can't help her like I am now."  
  
"All right, then, we'll go to the ranch and see if there's anything we can do. I know that three heads are better than one, at any rate, even if that one does hold the Triforce of Wisdom."  
  
Link started back toward the door. "Hurry up and change back to Sheik, so we can leave."  
  
Zelda walked toward Link, out the door of the chamber they had been in, and automatically there was a flash of light and Sheik stood before him.  
  
"Whoa, nice special effects," Link said.  
  
"Yeah, special's the word," Sheik snapped, voice muffled by the cloth. "That's what they call people who are born with a mental defect."  
  
"What!?"  
  
"You heard me."  
  
"Would you two knock it off?" Navi said. "We need to get going."  
  
"All right, all right. You coming, Zelda?"  
  
"My name's Sheik now!"  
  
"Oh yeah. Am I supposed to think of you as a guy, or a girl?"  
  
Sheik glared at Link, and he took that to mean he and he alone would know Sheik was a female. Well, him and Navi.  
  
They walked out of the Temple of Time into the first fresh air Link had inhaled for seven years. He now knew that he really had been asleep so long, it was as if his lungs had missed the outdoor air for far too long. The air was tainted, however, by the smell of smoke.  
  
"Do you guys smell that? Something's burning."  
  
Sheik smiled wryly from underneath the cloth covering her face. "There's always something burning, Link. I'd be surprised to smell fresh air in Hyrule."  
  
Link didn't say anything, just led the way to the trap door. There was holes in it, where the wood had rotted through. Navi flew down into the door, and Link kicked apart what was left, and lowered himself down into the hole.  
  
"Are you sure you know where we're going?" Sheik said.  
  
"Yeah, I remember it like it was yesterday, and Navi goes through here all the time. But this is the way you came too, isn't it?"  
  
"No, I used a song to warp here."  
  
"You'll have to teach it to me," Link said, walking down the stairs. He groped around for the handle of the door that opened into what had been Johan's bedroom. He couldn't find it.  
  
"How did you get through here, Navi?"  
  
"I used the other entrance that went to Kylia's room." She flew over to light the wall, and Link found a small indention in the wall that was a bit like a handle. He grasped it and pulled, dreading what he might see.  
  
Johan's room looked like it had the last time Link had seen it, except that it was extremely messy. Anything that could have been knocked over was, and the bed was broken and shredded as if some wild animal had attacked it. The books had been thrown off the shelves and torn apart, and the shelves had been shattered. The place smelled of ashes.  
  
Link barely had time to look around at the destruction before he heard movement from one of the piles of debris. He started to turn around to look at it, but something small and sharp poked him in the back; Link couldn't see behind him, but he knew that someone had just put a sword at his back.  
  
AN: Like I said, cliffhanger. Sort of. I'll love you forever if you review. Link's getting sorta weird on me. Oh well. I hoped you liked that. (It's one of the most pitiful chaps I've ever written.) I hope to update soon! Ciao! 


	13. Chapter Seventeen: Lon Lon Ranch

Author's Note: Wooo! We done it again! Another chapter! Thank you people who reviewed. I love you all. By the way, I'm not about to give out any spoilers, I know how much people hate them, but, well, just keep your eyes open. I dropped several major hints for the future. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this!  
  
Chapter Seventeen: Lon Lon Ranch  
  
"Don't move," said a gruff voice from behind him. "Any of you. If you do, he'll get this dagger. I don't like using it, but I won't hesitate to if I feel like there's a good reason." The voice was muffled, as Sheik's was, and Link suspected that the person behind him was wearing something over their mouth, like Sheik did.  
  
"I haven't got any money," Link snapped. "You're wasting your time." It was a lie, he did have money, but he wasn't about to tell this guy.  
  
"I don't want money. I want to know who you are."  
  
"I'm Link, that's my fairy partner Navi, and that's...uh...my cousin, yeah, her—ah, his name is Sheik."  
  
"Link is dead," the voice said warily from behind him. Navi and Sheik were both looking at the figure behind him with apprehension and dislike.  
  
"I am not dead," Link snapped. "And how do you know who Link is?"  
  
Link felt the point vanish from his back, and he turned around slowly. The man behind him was wearing a cloak, and his face wasn't visible. He was still holding the dagger as if he was getting ready to strike, but he seemed more at ease now. The man glanced down at the dagger, which had a silver handle with a diamond on each side, then back up at Link.  
  
"Prove that you're Link. I don't care how, just prove it. As much as I want to believe it's you, I'm not stupid. Just convince me that you're Link and I'll put this away."  
  
"Show him your sword," Sheik said.  
  
But the man moved the dagger closer to Link. "I don't think getting a weapon out is such a good idea."  
  
"Fine," Link snapped. What did he have that no one else did? What question was there that only he would know the answer to?  
  
"Aren't you going to ask me some kind of question?" Link asked. "Demand to see some worldly possession?"  
  
"Empty your pockets. No funny stuff."  
  
Obediently, Link pulled his Deku Nuts, his bombs, and his map. He kept the Ocarina of Time and the Fairy Ocarina in his pocket.  
  
"All of it," the man said, not even looking down at the pile. Link threw him a dirty look and pulled out the two ocarinas. Surely they'd prove who he was, who else had the Ocarina of Time? And only one ocarina matched his Fairy Ocarina, and that was Saria's.  
  
The man still held the dagger close to Link, but looked down at the pile. He shifted the Deku Nuts and bombs aside, but stopped when he reached the map.  
  
"Where did you get this map?"  
  
Link was not in the mood to be interrogated. "A friend gave it to me."  
  
"Who did?"  
  
Link sighed. Maybe if he just cooperated, he could get out of here and to the ranch. "His name was Johan, he used to live here. I don't even know if he's alive anymore."  
  
The man looked through the rest of the pile somewhat distractedly. "What about the ocarinas?" he asked, not sounding as if he cared a lot.  
  
"The big one is the Ocarina of Time, and if you take it, I'll make you wish you had died. The smaller one is something my friend Saria made for me a long time ago."  
  
"I see...."  
  
He looked through the pile again, and examined the map, front and back, as if trying to memorize its contents. Then, suddenly, he dropped it back on top of the pile and put the dagger away.  
  
"I'm sorry I had to do that to you, Link. But in today's world, hardly anyone can be trusted."  
  
"Yeah," said Sheik sarcastically, "Not everyone is as nice and trusting as you are."  
  
"I'm assuming that you're not really Link's cousin, so just who are you?"  
  
"He told you, didn't he? I'm Sheik," she snapped.  
  
"I meant under the disguise," the man said calmly.  
  
Sheik let out a snort. "You take off your mask and I'll take off mine."  
  
They had a staring contest for a moment. The man was the first to look away. "Fair enough," he said. "Link, you can have your things back now."  
  
Link bent down to pick them up off the floor, and looked at them all closely as he put them in his pockets, making sure the man hadn't harmed any of them. He stopped at the map. Why had the man been so interested in the map?  
  
"Did you know Johan?" Link asked, straightening up.  
  
"That depends on your definition of knowing him," the man said.  
  
"I just want to know what happened to him!" Link burst out angrily. "He's the only person left who knew my parents, and he's my friend! He never did anything wrong to anyone, and he didn't deserve to be hurt or killed or whatever happened to him! You see," he said in sarcastically polite tone, "I was trying to get out of here so I could find him before you interrupted me. Since you're wasting my time the least you could do is give me a straight answer. Do you know if he's all right?"  
  
The man stayed quiet for a long time. Link stood there with his fists clenched; he didn't even know this man who had searched him and interrogated him like he was some common thief. What business did he have to play mind games?  
  
"Johan is alive and well," the man said quietly.  
  
"Where is he?"  
  
"I cannot say."  
  
"You know, don't you? Why won't you tell me?"  
  
"I'll tell you in good time, if I tell you at all," the man said. "You mentioned going to the ranch. You'd better hurry, that place is as bad off as the rest of the world."  
  
Link shot a final glare at the man, then walked out of the room. He didn't care about looking around them at the burned armchair and shredded couch, or the broken tables and chairs. He just stalked up the stairs out into the Market.  
  
Immediately, Link felt cold. It wasn't because the wind was biting at his exposed skin, or because there was no sunlight coming from the sky above. It was because about five or six Redeads had just surrounded him.  
  
Link and Sheik both looked wildly around for a means of escape, Link painfully aware once again that he had no shield. The circle of Redeads closed in around the two of them, forcing them back to back. "Any ideas?" Link muttered.  
  
"Yeah, let's kick their sorry—"  
  
Before she could finish her sentence, Link had leapt forward and taken a swing at the nearest Redead with his sword. It let out an ear piercing shriek that made Link's blood run cold, but he fought to keep himself moving, and turned around to attack one behind him. Sheik had acted almost as quickly, attacking one behind her with claws that were about a foot long, but she heard the shriek and froze. Link finished the Redead he had been fighting, then turned to Sheik, who was paralyzed with terror. He attacked the Redead that had been getting closer to her, then took another one to his right. Sheik recovered herself, and took out another one that had been sneaking up behind her.  
  
When it had fallen to the ground and burst into blue fire, she leaned forward and put her hands on her knees, panting. "Stupid Redeads," she muttered bitterly, withdrawing the claws back into her suit.  
  
"I didn't know you had claws that were about a hundred feet long."  
  
"I can do magic, too, but if I parade that around I'm done for. Ganondorf would find me. But best not discuss it now, magic could be watching."  
  
Now that the battle was over, Link had time to look at his dismal surroundings. The Market was completely gray. Everything had been burned or torn apart, and the buildings were barely standing. A stiff wind made its way across the deserted Market, and Link shuddered. He looked up at the overcast sky, but no rain came from it. It seemed Navi was right about Ganondorf controlling the weather.  
  
Out in the distance, where Hyrule Castle used to be, there was a huge black tower, and a storm raged around it, the worst storm Link had ever seen. It never moved, however, it just stayed there, as if it were some gigantic guard dog.  
  
Seeing Link looking around, Sheik said, "It's awful, isn't it." It wasn't a question.  
  
Link nodded. "Ganondorf...did all of this?"  
  
"This is only the half of it."  
  
Navi flew toward the drawbridge, which had been broken. "It's a good thing that nothing dead can touch water," she said, indicating the few inches of water above the rotting wood. "Or those things would be all over the place."  
  
Link nodded grimly. A white horse was tied to what used to be a tree, and Sheik walked over to it, patting it on the nose. "Hey, Star," she whispered. She climbed on the horse. "Are you walking, Link?"  
  
"What choice do I have?"  
  
"Riding up here, you idiot."  
  
Link didn't like being called an idiot, but he didn't want to walk all the way to Lon Lon Ranch, so he kept his mouth shut and climbed on the horse behind her. Navi darted under his hat.  
  
"Go, Star!" Sheik said. The horse took off at lightning speed, and in nearly ten minutes, they were at the ranch.  
  
When they got there, Link and Navi both felt distinctly ruffled; they had never traveled on horseback. Sheik tied the mare to a tree outside of the ranch gates, and walked in. "Hello?" she called.  
  
"Whaddaya want?" said a voice from somewhere nearby. A minute later, a skinny, balding man came out from around the corner, and glared at them. His eyes traveled over to Sheik, who glared back at him.  
  
"What are you doin' back here? I kicked you out too!" the man said, sneering.  
  
"My...cousin...wanted to get a horse. I suppose even a—" Sheik called Ingo something that made him go red in the face, but she ignored it and kept going. "—like you wouldn't refuse a business offer if there were rupees involved."  
  
"Watch your mouth, boy."  
  
"You watch yours. Where's Malon?"  
  
Ingo sneered at her. "None of your business. Now, about your horse, kid. You can pay me to ride one for a little while, see how you like it. When you find one that suits you, I'll sell it to you, or if you win a race, I'll give it to you for free."  
  
Link glanced at Sheik, who nodded. Link walked over to the corral with Ingo, and sent a telepathic message to Navi, who had remained with Sheik.  
  
Navi, tell Sheik to find Malon.  
  
What am I, a messenger girl?  
  
Just do it!  
  
"These here are some of the finest horses. Ten rupees lets you loan one for two minutes."  
  
Link stared in disbelief at the man. That was outrageous. But he did need a horse, so he tossed a yellow rupee at Ingo, and went into the paddock.  
  
"Oh, kid, do you actually know how to ride?"  
  
Link didn't, and he didn't want to admit it, but Ingo said, "Ten extra rupees and I'll teach you how."  
  
Link looked around at the horses, who were all grazing peacefully.  
  
"Oh, all right," said Link, tossing another yellow rupee to Ingo.  
  
* * *  
  
Navi flew over to Sheik, and relayed Link's message to her as quietly as she could, then flew back over to watch Link. Sheik nodded, and crept inside the house while Ingo was busy showing Link how to ride a horse.  
  
Sheik heard soft crying from Malon's bedroom, and called out, "Malon? Are you in here?"  
  
There was a gasp, and the door to her room opened, but no one came out.  
  
"Malon, it's Sheik."  
  
Another gasp, then Malon came through the door. "Sheik? What are you doing here?" Her light blue eyes, which were red rimmed and puffy from crying, widened in shock.  
  
"We're trying to get you out of here, or get Ingo out of here."  
  
"Thank Faerore."  
  
"What's wrong, Malon? Why were crying?"  
  
Malon immediately looked down at the floor, her long, flaming red hair hiding her face. Malon was the only person besides Link and Navi that knew Sheik was a girl. Sheik had stayed at the ranch for a very long time, almost five years, ever since her and Impa had...gotten separated...and she eventually told Malon that she was a girl, even though she didn't reveal to Malon who she truly was. The two of them had become fast friends, because Sheik, being on the run, didn't have a friend in the world, and Malon, living in the middle of nowhere, hardly had any friends either.  
  
"Malon, what's been going on around here?"  
  
"I...well, Ingo has been threatening to hurt the horses...."  
  
"Is that all?" Sheik knew how much Malon loved the horses, but there wasn't a lot that could make her cry. Something more than that had to be going on.  
  
Malon decided to be honest to her best friend. "N-no....he...he's been hitting me, instead of the horses."  
  
Sheik's eyes went wide. "That dirty little—"  
  
"Be quiet, Sheik! Ingo could be listening," Malon hissed, looking around anxiously.  
  
"He isn't. He's outside trying to teach Link how to ride a horse." Sheik smirked a minute thinking about Link trying to ride a horse, but Malon brought her back to earth.  
  
"Link? Link who?"  
  
"Uh...my, ah, cousin."  
  
Malon raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Well, okay, not my cousin. But he's going to help me put Hyrule right again. I thought you'd remember him, he was here seven years ago."  
  
"You mean that Link? But I thought he died!"  
  
"You and everyone else in the world. Listen, we're going to get the ranch back from Ingo, if we can. Now that I've got help, I think we can do it. But even if we can't, we're going to get you out of here."  
  
"No! He'll hurt the horses. I would've left already, but he told me if I leave he'll whip them raw."  
  
"Malon, if you don't leave, he'll whip you raw." Now that Sheik took a closer look, she could see bruises and scratches on Malon's arms. "If we can't get the ranch from him, we're going to get you out of here."  
  
Malon folded her arms stubbornly. "You will not," she said. "I'm not leaving the horses."  
  
Sheik was forcefully reminded of a captain refusing to leave his ship, even when it was sinking beneath the waves faster than a brick. "Malon, I'll drag you out of here if I have to, I'm not going to let him hit you."  
  
Malon opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by an angry shout.  
  
"You git back here with that horse! You're time's up!"  
  
"Uh-oh," Sheik muttered. "Stay here, Malon, I'll be right back."  
  
Sheik raced down the stairs and out the door, and Malon followed her. Link was now successfully riding a horse, one of the cream colored ones. He was jumping over gates and taking laps around the corral, but Ingo was red with fury.  
  
"I said your time is up, boy! Get off that horse or give me some more rupees!"  
  
Link stopped the horse in front of Ingo, covering the raging man in dust. Malon, who was standing behind Sheik, giggled.  
  
Sheik turned around. She hadn't know Malon was following her. "Malon, be careful!" she hissed.  
  
Link dismounted the horse, and strode over towards Ingo. "Sorry," he said, not sounding as if he meant it at all.  
  
"All right boy, you can ride, now pick a horse."  
  
Link looked around. Suddenly, he spotted a mare lurking near a wooden shack. Her mane was white, and her fur a beautiful copper. He remembered seeing this horse when she was a pony. He closed his eyes and started humming to himself, trying to remember the special song that would coax the horse to him.  
  
"Sheik, he remembers the song!" Malon whispered, her heart feeling lighter than it had in months.  
  
Sheik glanced behind her, but then returned her gaze to Link. He had now mounted Epona, and had tossed the greedy Ingo another rupee.  
  
"I'll loan her for a minute," he said.  
  
Ingo looked up, and saw which horse it was, then he glared. "How did you break that horse, boy? I tried a hundred times at least, she won't listen to no one."  
  
"I'm just lucky, I guess." Link rode a few more laps, so that he could get Epona used to his presence. When his time was up, Ingo called him over.  
  
Link gave Ingo a good spraying of dust and dismounted Epona. "So, how much is she?" Link asked, trying to stall for time. He hoped Sheik was thinking of a plan.  
  
"Oh, this is quite a horse," Ingo said, an evil grin spreading across his face. "A thousand rupees, not one less."  
  
Link started arguing with him, trying to get the price down, but Ingo wouldn't budge. Then Ingo had an idea. "All right, boy, you win a race against me, and she's yours for half the price." He knew that the boy would be a fool to try and ride that horse; she bucked up every ten minutes, whether he was trying to break her or not. The boy was sure to be injured, and he knew he was, Ingo could tell he knew. Not only that, but Ingo had always had his own... "special ways" of winning races.  
  
"No, wait," Ingo said. "Every time you beat me I'll cut the price in half. How's that, boy?" This would increase his chances of injury, Ingo knew. "But if you lose, you have to pay the money and you don't get the horse. If you don't have the money, you have to work it off."  
  
Link looked at Ingo warily. This was obviously a trick. But he couldn't see what trick it was, unless Ingo didn't live up to his end the deal. He only had one hundred rupees left, and was eager to down the price; but if the race was rigged...he looked at Ingo hard, wondering if the man would sink so low as to cheat. Link wouldn't put it past him, but....  
  
Malon rushed forward from behind Sheik. She was scared of what Ingo would do, but she had to warn Link. "Link, you can't, Ingo cheats! He cheats! He—"  
  
But she never got to finish telling what Ingo would do, for at that moment he rushed toward her, and grabbed her arm tightly.  
  
"O-ow, stop it!"  
  
"Let her go!" Sheik said, her claws reappearing. Ingo looked up, as if he was startled to see them there. He glared at Sheik for a moment, but saw the claws and switched his glare to Malon, then turned back to Link.  
  
"All right," he said smoothly, "the race."  
  
Link thought over his choices grimly; he was now sure Ingo was a cheater.  
  
Link had just learned to ride, and he didn't think running a rigged race was a good idea, but he had to stall as long as possible. Navi was under his hat now, and he told her telepathically to tell Sheik to figure out a plan. He got the same response as he did a moment before, but he gave a sudden, violent, cough that knocked his hat off. Navi came flying out. She shot a glare at Link and flew over to Sheik to tell her what Link had said.  
  
"Write it and sign it."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I said write it and sign it! You think I'm stupid enough to race without me knowing you'll do what you say you will?"  
  
"Fine," Ingo grumbled. He reached in his pocket and took out a piece of paper and a pen, wrote down what they'd just agreed to, and signed it. Then he handed it to Link, who looked over carefully.  
  
"Okay, you're on," Link said, folding the paper and putting it into his own pocket. "How many laps?"  
  
"Two."  
  
"Fine."  
  
Link got on Epona, whispering, "This is for your owner, girl."  
  
Ingo got on one of the cream colored horses, muttering under his breath. He knew he would win. He was an extremely good rider, and that boy was just starting. The two of them lined up at the staring line.  
  
"Ready?" Ingo shouted. "Three...two...."  
  
To Link's fury, Ingo shouted "one" after he had already taken off. Link chased after him. Epona could sense how angry it was, and it made her run faster. Link caught up to Ingo by the end of the first lap, but as he started the second lap, Ingo reached out with one hand and tried to shove Link off of Epona. Epona whinnied angrily, and ran even faster, while Link struggled to hold on.  
  
Link won.  
  
Ingo was infuriated. "How?" he sputtered. "Stupid horse. When you lose I'm going to have her destroyed."  
  
"Too bad for you, I'm not gonna lose. Let's go again, I only have a hundred rupees left."  
  
Ingo glared and moved toward the starting line. Link followed.  
  
Race after race, Ingo kept cheating, kept making Epona mad, and wound up losing. Ingo was truly the better rider, so Link wasn't about to tell him that if he stopped cheating he'd win, but every time he did something out of order, it would push Epona further behind, and she would have to work harder to catch up. Not only that, but while Epona was dead tired, Ingo kept switching between the cream colored horses, so that they would be ready to race.  
  
Sheik kept swearing under her breath, calling Ingo every name imaginable, and Malon kept nervously watching Epona, worried about what Ingo said. Would he really put her down if Link lost?  
  
Link had finally gotten Epona's price down to a hundred and twenty-five rupees, and knew he could loan the rest of the money he needed.  
  
But Ingo's injured pride spoke out before Link could call out to Sheik or Malon. "Let's up the stakes, boy," Ingo said.  
  
Link eyed him warily.  
  
"I'll beat you yet," Ingo said, a maniacal gleam in his eye. He was panting slightly, and a few beads of sweat were clinging to his forehead. "Anything," he said. "I'll give you anything you want, and we'll wager it against you working for me for as long as I want."  
  
Link looked at Epona. She was very tired. He knew he could probably win the last race if she was in normal conditions, but this one could injure her, maybe kill her. But, if he didn't race, she would be killed anyway, Ingo had already said he would put her down. True, Link enough money to buy her, but he had a bad feeling that even what was written on the paper would not stop Ingo from getting revenge.  
  
"I'll do it," Link said. He got out the piece of paper, wrote something else down on it, and handed it to Ingo.  
  
Ingo's eyes widened, but his pride wouldn't let him back down. "Fine, but if you lose...."  
  
"Right, I put that on too. Just be informed that I'll tell Ganon if you back out. I have proof that you signed this."  
  
Link wouldn't dare tell Ganon anything, since there was probably a price on his head, but Ingo didn't know that. And Ingo now had no choice but to race.  
  
Each rider mounted his horse one last time, and got at the starting line.  
  
Ingo started on "three" this time, and fought to keep the inside. Epona was tiring out. She was running as fast as she could go, but her efforts only allowed them to catch Ingo, instead of pass him. They were almost at the finish line, now, and Link knew he would lose.  
  
Malon seemed to know it too. "N-no!" She cried. "You can do it, Epona! Run, run, run!"  
  
Epona, when she heard Malon's voice, raced forward in front of Ingo and his horse, and Link ducked to avoid another of Ingo's attacks. Ingo's horse, also hearing Malon's shout, bucked up and threw off his rider, and Ingo landed in the dirt while Epona soared across the finish line.  
  
"Link, you did it, you did it!" Malon rushed forward and hugged him—he stood very still, his eyes wide, rooted to the spot—Malon took no notice, and hugged the cream colored horse, then hugged Epona, whispering words of pride and assurance to her, then took her to the stables to get refreshed.  
  
When she had gone, Sheik asked Link, "What did you wager against him, anyway?"  
  
Link grinned and looked at Ingo, who had gotten up and was brushing himself off, wincing with each movement. Link happily took the paper out from his pocket, and read a portion of the writing:  
  
"If Ingo loses the final race to Link, he is sentnced to leave the property forever, and hand the ranch over to its proper owners, otherwise he will be chased off of the premises by those containing the proper authority to do so."  
  
Link started grinning again, and Malon came out of the stables.  
  
"The translation: Ingo, get your sorry ass outta here, or we'll chase you outta here. And don't ever come back, cause if you do, we're still gonna chase you out. By the way, this ranch is now the property of Talon."  
  
Sheik jumped up in the air and gave a whoop, and Malon followed suit. Even Navi flew around in circles to vent excited energy. Then they all looked at Ingo.  
  
"You heard him," said Sheik, her voice gleeful. "Get your sorry ass outta here before I chase it outta here." She showed him her claws menacingly. Ingo backed away, then turned tail and ran out of the ranch. Sheik could only chase him to the gates before she doubled up laughing.  
  
"I need," she gasped, trying to control herself, "I need to bring my horse in. So she won't get stolen."  
  
Malon was laughing too, but she had more self control than Sheik. "Can I borrow her? I want to go find Dad!"  
  
Sheik just nodded before doubling up in laughter again.  
  
"Oh, and you two can stay here, if you don't have anywhere else to stay. It's free, for as long as you want. If it hadn't been for you two, Ingo would still be here," Malon said, beaming.  
  
"No fair," Navi said. Malon jumped and looked up. "I didn't know there was a fairy here too. You helped, right? So of course you can stay too." She looked down at Sheik, who was still laughing.  
  
"Breathe, girl, or you'll suffocate before you get to stay." Malon jumped and put her hands over her mouth when she realized what she'd said.  
  
"It's okay," Sheik said, having finally stopped laughing. "They know I'm a girl."  
  
Malon looked relieved. "I'm going to find Dad," she said. "I think he's in Kakariko. Sheik, can I take your horse? All of these have been raced, and they're too tired."  
  
"I already said yes," Sheik said.  
  
"Okay. I'll see all of you when I get back with Dad!" Malon ran out the gate, looking absolutely elated.  
  
At which point Sheik doubled up with laughter again. "You should've seen the look on his face!" she roared, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.  
  
"It's not that funny, I mean, you're acting like someone just said Navi isn't two inches high."  
  
"I'm not! I'm three inches high! Three!"  
  
Link looked at Sheik. Sheik looked at Link. As if on cue, they both burst out laughing again.  
  
"Oooh, just you wait, Link, I'll prove it one day. I am not two inches high!"  
  
Link and Sheik just howled with laughter. After a minute, Navi started laughing at the way they were acting.  
  
So the three of them were laughing like fools when Talon showed up.  
  
But nobody minded much.  
  
Navi had needed a laugh. Sheik probably had too.  
  
It was the first time either of them had laughed in seven long years.  
  
AN: Nothing much to say, but I'm making myself put up notes on all the chaps so I can keep up with everything. Weird, yeah, but anyway. It might be awhile to the next chap, but I'm working on it! Just pray to the inspirational gods for me, okay? And hope the people at OverClocked mix some good stuff, cause I can't write without an OCRemix. If you haven't been there go there NOW.  
  



	14. Chapter Eighteen: The Kokiri Army

Author's Note: Woo! Number eighteen! I'll get to twenty soon! (Jesus, how long is this thing gonna get?) Anyway, thankies for the reviews! I just reached number forty! ^_^ Anyways, hope you like the chap.  
  
Chapter Eighteen: The Kokiri Army  
  
When Talon had returned, Link, Sheik, Navi, and Malon had celebrated by helping themselves to a large portion of Malon's excellent cooking, and to a large portion of verbally abusing Ganon and Ingo. They had also let Talon in on the fact that Sheik was a girl, so nobody would have to watch themselves anymore.  
  
When things had settled down, and the small, rowdy, party had simmered down into a peaceful chat around the fireplace, Link remembered to ask about Poetrader.  
  
"Did Poetrader leave?"  
  
Malon nodded. "He went a little after Sheik did. He couldn't stand it, and I don't blame him. Not one bit."  
  
Talon protectively put an arm around his daughter's bruised shoulder. "He never did talk much, that man, but he was always polite, and he did manage to pay us a little rent. Money is hard to come by, but he did try and pay his share. I hope he's all right, wherever he is."  
  
"I just wish he had stayed a little longer," said Link, his voice bitter. "Did he ever mention anyone named Johan?"  
  
Talon shook his head. "Not that I know of. But he didn't talk much, like I said."  
  
"No, he did mention someone named Johan, once," Malon said, frowning. "Over supper one night, while you were selling milk in Kakariko."  
  
"Really?" said Link. "Did he say where Johan was?"  
  
Malon shook her head, still frowning, as if trying to remember. "We were talking about the current world state. About the hard times. And he said...he said he was worried about Johan. He said Johan's inn had been destroyed and there was no sign of him." She shook her head again. "I'm sorry, but that's the only time I can remember him mentioning someone named Johan. But I hope you find him soon."  
  
"Don't worry, Link. If he's out here, we'll find him," Navi said, fluttering down to rest on his shoulder.  
  
"Yeah, and if we ever track down any other people that were staying at that place, we can always ask them." Sheik shook her head. "I'll tell you something, though. Tracking people down has been a real chore lately. Almost everyone is afraid and in disguise...."  
  
After talking a little longer, Sheik stood up to say that she was going to bed. "If we're going to the forest tomorrow, we should get some sleep. We don't even have a map, it's going to be hell trying to find our way."  
  
"You don't need a map if I go," Link said indignantly, and everyone laughed.  
  
"Sheik, you can stay the one door down from me," Malon said. Sheik nodded, yawning and stretching, then headed upstairs.  
  
"I think I'll turn in too," Malon said. "Link, you can stay across from Sheik. Are you coming too, Dad?"  
  
"Might as well, I'm so tired I can't keep my eyes open."  
  
Link watched everyone yawn and felt tired himself. Giving in, he grinned and said, "Don't worry if you hear a chainsaw tonight, that's just me snoring." Again, everyone laughed, and they all went upstairs.  
  
They were all tired, and not one of them was aware that a certain cloaked stranger was watching them from outside the window.  
  
* * *  
  
Sheik couldn't sleep. She was tired, very tired, but as much as her body craved sleep, her mind would not shut down. She had far too much to think about.  
  
Link had changed. It had been seven years, true, but he hadn't been awake. In a sense, he had been dead for those years.  
  
He seemed worried about a man named Johan. He had shouted at the cloaked stranger, and mentioned his parents. Johan might have known his parents. But funnily enough, she had thought he was a Kokiri...it wasn't her business, though. He'd tell her if he felt like it.  
  
She had changed too, of course. She was no longer the girl who snapped at everyone, or even the person she had been before that, the girl who had loved life, and loved to have fun; the girl who loved the human spirit and all the wonders it could give.  
  
And Link had helped her win back the ranch...what else was he capable of? Could he really save Hyrule? She'd gone through seven years of hell, some of those years without Impa; when her nursemaid had disappeared in a bright purple light five years ago, Sheik had took it upon herself to make her way in the world.  
  
Which was why she was Sheik now, and a boy. The first night without Impa had by far been the worst; she was attacked by a gang of boys who made some comments that she didn't like, and they had made them because she was a girl. She had ran like the wind and escaped unscathed, but from then on she was Sheik, a male. She had gotten the name from one of Impa's stories. The only magic part of her disguise were the red eyes, for most Shekiah had red eyes. Of course, their eyes were a lighter, softer red, not a deep cold red like Ganon's....  
  
She shuddered as she remembered Ganon's red eyes...how menacing and uncaring they were when he had cornered her on the stairway, the day she had found out who held two of the Triforce pieces...and how those horrible red eyes had looked like the color of blood...when he had murdered her father....  
  
Sheik sat up quickly and got out of bed, trying to force her mind onto something else, anything else. She began to pace, breathing deeply, but the harder she tried not to think about it, the more vivid the images were...every time she tried to forget it, it had always come back—every dammed time—  
  
Sheik stopped pacing. She had heard movement from across the hall. She remembered that Link was staying there. She crept silently over to his door, which was cracked, and looked in. Navi was on the bedside table, apparently asleep, but Link was sitting at a table in the middle of the room, pen in hand, drawing something on a piece of paper. He had an oil lamp turned on, but the flame was low; Sheik guessed that he didn't want to wake anyone up.  
  
He stayed at the table, drawing, for a long time, then yawned and looked down at it, inspecting it closely. Then he turned the paper over and scribbled something on the back. He stared at it for a moment with an odd expression on his face, folded up the paper, then flopped down on the bed, apparently forgetting he had left the lamp on, left the paper on the table, and was still fully dressed.  
  
She didn't want to nose in his business, but she was curious. What in the world was he doing up so late when he was as tired as everyone else?  
  
Against her better judgment and her conscience, she waited until his breathing was deep and slow, then crept into his room to look at the paper. She unfolded it quietly, and she could see it was a map. Most of it looked a bit faded, but in the place where the forest was, the ink was fresh and new. Had he drawn this? She remembered him saying that they didn't need a map if he went. If that was true, why did he draw it on?  
  
She turned the paper over to see what he had written on the back. There was faded writing in the corner, a hand-written signature that said "Samuel." In the margin below the name, she could see that Link had signed his own name; the ink here was fresh like the ink on the forest.  
  
She had no idea what it meant, and felt guilty for not respecting his privacy. She folded the map again, and crept back out of the room.  
  
Navi sat up when she had left. She hadn't been sleeping, she too had been watching Link; his movements lighting the lamp had woken her up. She didn't have to look at the paper to know what he had drawn. Link thought she didn't know about the map, and the name on the back, but she did. Still, maybe that was his only way to vent. She wouldn't tell him she knew about the map. He could tell her if he wanted to.  
  
She felt so bad for him. Ten years of his life had been a living hell; and the other seven had been snatched from him as quickly as his parents had been.  
  
She sighed, and flew over to the bed. She picked up Link's hat and tossed it on the nightstand, then, with great difficulty, pulled off his boots and tugged the blankets over him. Then she used the hat as a blanket to cover herself with, and drifted off to sleep, her eyes searching the star scattered heavens for an answer to her only question.  
  
Why?  
  
* * *  
  
Link awoke the next morning to Malon shouting from downstairs. "Breakfast is ready! Come and get it before we eat it all!"  
  
Link grunted. He could care less about breakfast, he just wanted five more minutes...the smell of eggs and bacon wafted upstairs to him and his stomach rumbled.  
  
Okay, maybe breakfast wasn't such a bad idea after all. It was no wonder he was hungry; he hadn't eaten in seven years.  
  
Link grunted again, and sat up. He realized that someone had taken off his boots during the night. He looked over and Navi, still sleeping on his hat, and grinned. He shook his head. "Why, Navi, I didn't know you cared."  
  
Navi grunted in the same way he had.  
  
"No time for that! I need food! I haven't had a bite to eat in years!" He snatched Navi and his hat off the nightstand and bounded down the stairs. Malon was standing at the stove, one eyebrow raised.  
  
Navi shrieked. "Link, let me go!"  
  
Link released her, still grinning. "Of course. You're awake now, anyway."  
  
"I did not ask for a wake up call!"  
  
Link's eyes widened innocently. "But you didn't have to! That's what friends are for!"  
  
Navi sighed and sat down on the edge of the table. Why did this give her déjà vu?  
  
Malon, who had been watching the pair of them, laughed and said, "You two could go on the road with that act. You'd make more money than all of the Gerudo thieves put together." She nodded her head toward the table. "Food's on the table, help yourselves. Oh, and Link, you can use Epona to ride today. You won her, and she likes you."  
  
Link thanked her, then grabbed a plate and eagerly began piling eggs on it. Sheik came downstairs, yawning. Then she stopped and stared at Link, who now had about four eggs and ten or twelve pieces of bacon on his plate, and was adding toast to the whole deal.  
  
"What? I haven't eaten in years!"  
  
Sheik snorted and sat down. She only ate one egg and a piece of toast.  
  
After Link had finished eating, which had taken awhile, considering the amount of food on his plate, he got up and said he was headed off to the forest. Sheik had finished eating some time ago, and she stood up to go with him.  
  
Link stopped and glanced back at her. "I think I'd better go by myself," he said. "You should stay here, and, ah, help Malon. With the horses."  
  
Sheik glared. "Why don't you want me to come?"  
  
"I just want to go by myself, okay?" Link snapped.  
  
Sheik sat down at the table and huffed, crossing her arms. Link looked apologetically at her and shrugged, then headed out the door. Navi glanced back at Sheik. "You don't need to worry about him. He's just...."  
  
But she shook her head and followed him out the door without telling Sheik exactly what Link was.  
  
After a few minutes of silence, Malon spoke, recognizing the look on her friend's face.  
  
"How long are you going to wait before you follow him?" she asked, looking amused.  
  
"Are you kidding? Five minutes."  
  
* * *  
  
Link went into the stables and mounted Epona. She looked much better, since Malon had brushed her and given her something to eat. Link patted her before setting off at a trot toward the forest.  
  
"So, why didn't you want Sheik to come?" Navi asked.  
  
"I dunno. I just...okay, to be honest, I'm a little nervous about seeing what he's done to the forest. And about seeing Saria and Mido again." He smirked. "Each for different reasons, of course."  
  
Navi laughed.  
  
Link grew serious again. "I didn't want her to be with me when I go home. I know it sounds stupid the way I say it, but you know what I mean...right?"  
  
Navi nodded. "I do."  
  
* * *  
  
Sheik watched from a distance as Link dismounted Epona and tied her up outside the forest. She hoped he had enough sense to remember to bring the map. She decided to give it another minute before following him in.  
  
She tied her horse next to Epona, and talked to them awhile. She had to wait until Link was inside before following him, or he would know he was being watched.  
  
But Link wasn't the only one who was being followed.  
  
* * *  
  
Link walked across the bridge slowly. Navi was sitting on his shoulder. He tried not to breathe, for fear of smelling smoke. He tried not to look ahead of him, for fear of what he might see.  
  
But he had to know. He had to know. He took a deep breath, and walked forward.  
  
His footsteps echoed on the bridge; he clenched his hands to stop their shaking; his breathing seemed louder than it ever had before.  
  
But nothing was as loud as the silence that greeted him.  
  
His mouth fell open in horror. He couldn't find words inside him to describe what had happened here.  
  
Some of the treehouses were still intact, but every inch of the ground seemed burnt. Deku Scrubs had built nests all over the place, there were Wolfos lurking around the ruins of the shop and in dark corners, Deku Babas had sprouted on any earth that had remained unburned; it was an absolute mess.  
  
Navi, too, was at a loss for words. What had happened here? She hadn't ever gone to the forest in her search for Zelda; it had been too well protected for her to gain entry. But she had no idea....  
  
"Hello?" Link called out. "Is there anyone here?"  
  
He walked over to where his house had been, picking his way through the smoking rubble.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
Someone came out onto the balcony of his house. He didn't have to wonder what they were doing there; His house was the only one above the ground, and the safest.  
  
"Who are you?" the child asked fearfully. It took a second for Link to recognize her.  
  
"Raimyn?"  
  
"H-how did you know my name? Wh-why do you have a fairy? And why have you got green on? Ganon...h-he'll kill you, if you wear green."  
  
"Relax, Raimyn, I'm not going to hurt you or kill you, and I can wear green if I want, I'd like to see him try and stop me. Do you know where Saria is?"  
  
"Wh-who are you?"  
  
Link exchanged a look with Navi. Even though she hadn't stood up for him against Mido, Raimyn had never teased him. But, seriously, who would believe he was Link? Even Saria had thought he was Kokiri.  
  
"I'm...." Link trailed off, then had an idea. "I'm a spy. I've been pretending to work for Ganon, but I was really spying on him, so I could figure out how to...rebuild the forest." He hated lying to her, but if he said he was Link, she would disappear into the house and not come back.  
  
Raimyn's eyes grew wide. "Really?"  
  
Link nodded. "Yeah, and I can't tell you my real name, but my codename is Link. I have an...accomplice, but he's not with me today."  
  
Raimyn eyed him warily. "And what's his name?"  
  
"Ah...Sheik."  
  
"Hey, I know Sheik! He came here once, and helped us get rid of some Wolfos. But now they're back again...why have you got a fairy?"  
  
"Oh, she's here to...help me find my way around. Her name is Navi."  
  
"I didn't know there was a fairy named Navi here."  
  
"Will you let me in?"  
  
"I don't know. I have to ask. Everyone is up here so we won't get eaten. We'll vote." Raimyn ran inside, and Link could hear voices murmuring softly.  
  
Behind him, he heard the snap of a twig and he whirled around.  
  
But he didn't pull his sword fast enough. An angry Wolfos tackled him to the ground, and Link hadn't managed to pull a weapon. He fought to keep the thing from ripping out his throat with his right arm while he tried to reach for some Deku Nuts with his left.  
  
His arm was bleeding now, the Wolfos had tried to bite his throat and ended up nearly taking his arm off. Link's fingers fought to remove the Deku Nuts from the pouch, but he couldn't reach them.  
  
All of the sudden, the pressure from his right arm had been released, and he scrambled up to see what had happened. His mouth fell open as he saw Sheik battling the Wolfos, and he went to help her. He took it from behind, and it burst into blue flame.  
  
It was fortunate Link was left handed; his right arm had been wounded by the Wolfos, and he had no shield. But he was still able to swing a sword, and that proved to be useful when the rest of Wolfos came lunging out at the pair of them.  
  
Sheik did most of the fighting, because Link was wounded, but he still managed to take out a few. There were at least two dozen, and once in awhile a Deku Baba that was in range would decide it was hungry and lunge out for one of them.  
  
It took them nearly fifteen minutes to take out all the Wolfos, and by the time they were done, Link's arm was stinging and bleeding freely.  
  
"You're hurt," Sheik said, walking over to him. "The way you were fighting, I didn't even notice."  
  
Link glared at her. "I told you I was doing it by myself. You weren't supposed to follow me." He stopped, and sighed heavily.  
  
"But thanks," he told her grudgingly. "You probably just saved my life. Damn, I could really use a shield."  
  
"Let's worry about your arm first. Where's Navi?"  
  
Navi flew out from under Link's hat, then looked at the bites and scratches the Wolfos had left on Link's arm.  
  
"Ouch, that looks awful. I think we need to get something to put on it—"  
  
"Hey!"  
  
Link, Sheik, and Navi turned around. Raimyn was back.  
  
"I saw that. It was terrific! We decided to let you in...hey, Sheik, why didn't you ever tell us you were a spy?"  
  
Sheik shot a glance at Link, who warned her to go along with everything he said simply by jerking his head at the girl.  
  
"I...I couldn't, at the time, I guess, it was too risky. Can we come up now?"  
  
Raimyn nodded. "C'mon up."  
  
Sheik started toward the ladder first, but Link stopped her. He was grateful to her for saving him, but he was annoyed she had followed him. "It's my house, I'll go first," he snapped.  
  
"Sah-ree," Sheik muttered.  
  
They went inside the house, and Link was unhappy to find that it wasn't at all like he had left it. His things were still there, but they had been shoved to the side, as his furniture had been. All the Kokiri were sitting on the floor, looking at him expectantly.  
  
Link took a head count, and he realized that there were two people missing.  
  
Mido was one of them. Saria was the other.  
  
* * *  
  
Mido walked slowly through the Lost Woods, trying to remember where Saria had told him to go. It was so confusing, and she knew it like the back of her hand. It was amazing.  
  
The only other person who had known it as well as her had been Mr. No Fairy. He had always tagged along after her, anyway. Mido hoped that he was all right, in spite of himself. And as he caught himself thinking of the boy as Mr. No Fairy again, he firmly said the name Link in his brain.  
  
He wasn't sorry he had sent Mr. N—Link away. After all, he had killed the Deku Tree! And no matter what Saria said about it not being his fault, Mido couldn't forgive him for that.  
  
No, what bothered him was all the pain he had put...Link...through. Okay, he didn't have a fairy. But that wasn't his fault. And Saria had talked about him constantly, sometimes telling Mido how Link had run away from to the Lost Woods, or how he had always been good at fishing before his fishing pole was stolen and broke apart.  
  
Mido had a conscience, and he fully regretted treating the boy—Link, he reminded himself, he fully regretted treating Link the way he had. After hearing from Saria what it was like for him, he couldn't see how he had been so cruel. Maybe he wasn't a nice person, but he had never thought of himself as heartless.  
  
Mido stopped. Here was the pond of water Saria had told him to watch for. He wasn't supposed to let anyone by here, no matter what. Not unless....  
  
* * *  
  
"Where's Saria?" Link asked.  
  
The Kokiri shook their heads sadly. Link's throat was dry. "She isn't...I mean...."  
  
"She's alive," said a boy named Jatrin. "She went to the special place. She didn't ell us where it was. She said she would never tell anyone. But, she's been gone a long time."  
  
"Almost five years," Raimyn said.  
  
"She left Mido in charge," Jatrin told them, "And for once it didn't go to his head. He's so much more different now."  
  
"He said Saria had told him to go only so far, then stop at a certain place and guard it, if any more monsters came," Raimyn said. "And they did, so he went. But we've been stuck here two days without any food or water because we can't get to our houses."  
  
"You can," Link said abruptly. "Watch. Here, get off the tree stump." Link walked toward the stump and pulled it open with his good arm. "That goes to every house in the forest, but don't stay in your houses too long, just get some food and water when you need it and come back here. Go now, you must be really hungry and thirsty. Don't eat at your houses, though, just bring back all you can carry and get back here."  
  
The children followed his orders as if he was a military general. They all lined up at the stump and went down one at a time.  
  
"I think there's a lantern at the bottom, but you have your fairies to light the way. Are you all down there?"  
  
"Yes!" came the shouts.  
  
"Okay, Raimyn, you go left at the fork and...."  
  
Link explained the way to each house to each Kokiri child one at a time, and eventually, they had all gone.  
  
"I can't believe you told them you were a spy," Sheik said.  
  
"Believe it. If I told them who I really was, they'd throw me out again. And I doubt Mido's changed. He's probably a just as big a bully as ever."  
  
"Link, that's not fair," Navi said. "He might have changed. Saria probably made him change," she added, chuckling.  
  
"Who's Mido?"  
  
"Oh, a little scumbag you had the wonderful luck not to meet."  
  
Sheik raised an eyebrow.  
  
"I don't want to talk about it, okay?" Link snapped.  
  
"Okay, okay...."  
  
Navi settled onto Link's shoulder again. "I think we should look at your arm while we wait for them to get back."  
  
* * *  
  
Mido at down in the huge log and pulled out a book to read. He was going to guard this place if it killed him—which it might—Mido shuddered—but he figured might as well have something to do.  
  
It wasn't long before he heard a snap of a twig. Since he was reading, every noise seemed louder than it was. He was sure he wouldn't have heard it if he'd been doing something else.  
  
There it was again. Mido sat very still, staring at the book, but not really seeing it.  
  
"Who's there? Show yourself, you coward," Mido called out, standing up. He hoped he didn't sound as scared as he felt.  
  
Someone seemed to appear out of thin air in front of him. The stranger was tall and wearing a cloak that covered his face.  
  
"Let me by," he said, his voice sounding muffled.  
  
Mido snorted, and tried to call up his usual sneer and superior attitude. "You think I'm gonna let you by here? You could be Ganondorf under that thing!"  
  
That thought had just occurred to him, and he swallowed. What if it was Ganondorf?  
  
"I don't care what you say, I'm not letting you by. You'll have to force me out of the way. Saria told me to stand guard and I will."  
  
The man looked down at Mido. He couldn't make himself hurt this boy. He had another way of getting to the Temple, and though it would sap a lot of his energy, he was going to have to go that way.  
  
"Fine," said the man coolly, taking a step back. "I'll do it the hard way."  
  
Mido clenched his jaw, prepared to take whatever the man was going to throw at him, but the man took out an ocarina, played something on it, and disappeared in a flash of green light.  
  
* * *  
  
"Ow! Navi, cut that out, it hurts!"  
  
Sheik laughed. "You're the Hero of Time, don't be a baby."  
  
"You try having your arm ripped apart by a Wolfos and see if you like it. Navi, what are you putting on that? It feels like fire!"  
  
"I got it from outside, it's a plant. And stop whining, I'm almost done."  
  
A Kokiri entered from the stump. "Mr. Link?"  
  
"Just—ow—Link. Yeah?"  
  
"Everyone else is on their way back. Do you want a share of my food?"  
  
"Of course not. I ate already, and you—ow—haven't had anything in two days. You just—ouch—sit down and eat, and we'll wait for everyone else to—Navi, cut that out!" He waved his bad arm around and it sent her flying. She shot him a glare and tossed the leaf she had been using out the window. Sheik tossed Link some bandages, and he began to carefully wrap his arm.  
  
The Kokiri girl giggled. "You know, there was once a boy here named Link."  
  
"Oh—there was?"  
  
"Uh-huh. He lived in this house, actually. Only he left seven years ago because Mido kicked him out."  
  
Sheik glanced at Link. So Mido had kicked Link out. No wonder Link didn't like him.  
  
"Well...ah, I had to assume a name of someone who used to live here, you see. For...secret reasons. You're very observant. What's your name?" Of course Link knew her name, but he had already called Raimyn by name, he didn't think it was a good idea to risk it again.  
  
"Rosanti."  
  
The rest of the Kokiri had come up the tree stump, and when they were all there, Link said, "Did Mido leave anyone in charge?"  
  
Raimyn stood up, and pulled Jatrin up with her. "Us," she said. "We're twins. This is my brother, Jatrin."  
  
"Okay, then me and Sheik will have to teach you how to fight. Then you can teach everyone else when we're gone. You all need to learn to defend yourselves so you can fight the Wolfos on your own."  
  
The children's eyes all grew wide. "Really? Learn to fight?"  
  
"Sure!" said Link. "The Zoras and Hylians and Gorons and Gerudo can all fight, why not you too?"  
  
Excited murmurs filled the tiny room.  
  
"Raimyn, come down the ladder with me. Jatrin, Sheik will teach you."  
  
Sheik made sure she shot Link a dirty look that said she didn't like being told what to do. But it was a good idea. She turned to Jatrin, who hadn't moved.  
  
"Don't worry about the monsters," Sheik said. "Me and Link will be down there, and even though he can only use one arm, he's good for protection. Besides, we need something to practice on."  
  
Jatrin nodded and headed down the ladder. Raimyn followed him.  
  
"The rest of you can watch from outside while you eat, if you want," Sheik said. "But be sure to save some for these two, okay?"  
  
The children nodded their agreement and settled on to the balcony.  
  
When Link got down the ladder, he hissed at Navi, "Can you still get into the Sacred Realm?"  
  
"Y-yes." Why on earth would he want her to go back there?  
  
"Can you bring my sword and shield and slingshot?"  
  
"It might take me more than one trip. I'm pretty small, you know."  
  
"That's okay, just go as fast as you can."  
  
"All right." Navi zipped away.  
  
"Raimyn," Link said. "Didn't they used to sell wooden swords at the shop where you worked? Until about twelve years ago?"  
  
"Y-yes. But we had to hide them because they were dangerous, and people were getting hurt."  
  
"Do you remember where you hid them?"  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"Will you show me? We need as many weapons as we can get."  
  
"Uh-huh, c'mon."  
  
Raimyn started toward the shop and Link followed, pretending he didn't know the way.  
  
"They were under a loose floorboard. But this place is all tore up...."  
  
"That's okay, you see if you can find the swords. I'll look for the shields and some Deku Nuts."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Link rummaged through the wreckage, feeling sick. The forest...his forest...his home...destroyed. He found a big bag of Deku Nuts and a few Deku Sticks under a piece of the wall, and two shields  
  
"I found them!" A joyful shout echoed across the ruins, and Link turned around. Raimyn was holding in her arms at least a dozen wooden swords.  
  
"Great!" Link said. "We'll take them back to the house."  
  
Link and Raimyn went back to the house, threw the swords up to the Kokiri, and told them to watch carefully.  
  
Both Raimyn and Jatrin had swords now. Sheik was standing next to Jatrin, and Link was near Raimyn. Link and Sheik kept giving the kids instructions on how to hold the swords, and where to swing. The shields were given to them, since they had been left in charge, and so Link also suggested that they learn to defend, too. They worked until almost sunset practicing, then Link talked them into trying to fight a Deku Baba.  
  
It was a success. The twins took out the Deku Baba, and only got a few scrapes each. It inspired all of the Kokiri, and soon, Link didn't need to fight the monsters, because the children were doing it by themselves.  
  
It wasn't until night had fallen that Navi returned to Link, panting.  
  
"It's all behind the house," she said. "I'm sorry it took so long, but that sword was really heavy."  
  
"It's all right, thank you for bringing the stuff."  
  
"What did you want it for?"  
  
"You'll see."  
  
The air now held the glow that Link remembered, and he used it to light his way to the back of the house. He would have used Navi's light, but she was beat, and was resting in his house.  
  
There lay his Deku Shield, his slingshot, and the beautiful Kokiri Sword.  
  
When he got back, he saw that Sheik was looking around, apparently impressed by the forest's beauty.  
  
"You lived here?" she asked. "It's beautiful...especially at night. Why does the air glow like this?"  
  
"No idea. And you should have seen it before it was attacked. It was really beautiful then."  
  
"I bet it was," Sheik said wistfully. "Hey, what's wrong?"  
  
Link glanced at the ground. "Ah, nothing, just got something in my eye. Dust or something, no big deal," he said quickly, rubbing his eyes.  
  
But Sheik was sure it wasn't dust.  
  
"I almost wonder if they would have been able to defend themselves from the start if they had known how to fight before. Then it wouldn't be like this," Link said bitterly, breaking the silence.  
  
"I understand more than you think I do, you know."  
  
Link glanced at her. "Yeah."  
  
They stayed quiet for a long time, looking up through the glowing air at the treetops and at the stars beyond, just barely visible through the burned leaves, lost in thought. After awhile, Sheik yawned.  
  
"Tired?" Link smirked.  
  
"Yeah, I am."  
  
"Lucky you."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
He laughed. "I'm a night owl. An insomniac. I stay up until I'm so tired I have to sleep."  
  
"Ahh. And you still have so much energy during the day."  
  
"What can I say, I'm a hyper sort of guy."  
  
Sheik laughed. "Goodnight."  
  
"What do you mean goodnight? Where are you sleeping?"  
  
"In a tree, under the stars. Like I've been doing for the past six months."  
  
"What if it rains?"  
  
"Link, Hyrule hasn't had any rain for two years."  
  
"If you say so."  
  
Sheik left, and Link heard her moving around somewhere in the trees above him. He laughed softly to himself. Who in their right minds slept in trees?  
  
He looked at the stars above him for a long time, enjoying the tranquillity around him. He played his ocarina a little while before going to bed.  
  
From the treetops, Sheik heard his song. It was a beautiful melody, one that seemed to float through the glowing air as if it were tangible, yet weightless in every sense.  
  
What was that song, anyway?  
  
Sheik wasn't the only person awake to hear him play his Ocarina. As usual, Navi wasn't sleeping, but waiting until he went to bed to fully let herself sink into dreamland. If she had ever went to sleep before Link, she had always slept lightly, so she could watch him.  
  
Navi hadn't gone to sleep at all tonight. She had stayed up, even though she was tired from bringing his things from the Sacred Realm. She knew what the song was, even if no one else did. She had first heard it sitting on a windowsill seventeen years ago. It occurred to her that perhaps Link was trying to coax himself to sleep with this lullaby, like his mother had done so many years ago.  
  
But the forest was always good for carrying sound, and that night, everyone heard Link playing his song, including a cloaked stranger sleeping on the old tree outside of the Forest Temple.  
  
AN: I think Sheik is a bit too nosy. Eh well. Has the cloaked dude got you wondering yet? :p I hope so. Bwahah. Anyway, another chap coming soon, I hope. (I think I'm going to be getting a new comp soon, and in the switch I might lose lotsa writing time. I really need a new comp tho!) 


	15. Chapter Nineteen: To the Temple

Author's note: Yay! It's done! Finally! Thankies for the reviews! *gives a rose to everyone who gave a review* Hope you like the chap!  
  
Chapter Nineteen: To the Temple  
  
Link walked to the bottom of the tree that Sheik had slept in as quietly as he could. Grinning, he made a bird call to make sure she was really asleep. Sheik grunted and rolled over.  
  
"Wake up!" he shouted. "Rise and shine, get up, move it, move it, move it!"  
  
Sheik yelled and nearly fell out of the tree.  
  
"Are you nuts! What did you do that for?"  
  
"I think I am, and I did it for sheer entertainment."  
  
"Link, you'd better run, because when I get down from here I'm gonna kill you."  
  
"Ooooh, I'm really scared now," Link said, pretending to tremble. "Come down here then, see if you can catch me!" he taunted.  
  
Sheik threw a stick at him and he ducked it easily.  
  
"You should really work on your aim, you know." Sheik growled and threw another stick. Link ducked again. "Watch it, you might hit the tree behind me."  
  
"What are you doing?" Navi had flown out of Link's house, coming to investigate the source of the noise. No one answered her. Sheik leapt down from the tree and started chasing Link. Navi noticed he was grinning. Well, at least he was happy for now. He hadn't been very happy lately.  
  
"Hey, look, it's the incredible Sheik!" Link said, ducking out from behind a treehouse and pulling a face at her. "Faster than a speeding bullet, but not faster than m—oof!"  
  
Sheik had finally caught up to Link in his moment of lax security, and pushed him to the ground. "I'll ask the next time I want you to wake me up like that," she growled.  
  
"So wake up before I do."  
  
Sheik snorted, clearly stating that would be the day hell froze over. "Link, you annoy me."  
  
"Thanks." Link grinned. "Can we go now? Please, please, please, please, please?"  
  
"You haven't found a shield yet," Sheik pointed out, trying her best to keep the amusement out of her voice.  
  
"Oh, yeah. Well, I'll be okay, we really need to go. See, I know where Saria went, because I know where the secret place is. Besides, I always know where Saria goes. And if you don't come I'll go without you."  
  
Sheik frowned. "What about the forest sage?"  
  
"Forget them, I want to find Saria. Besides, the Forest Temple is really close to the secret place. Come on, we need to go."  
  
"All right, all right. The kids still asleep?"  
  
"Yeah. I left a note telling them to go back to their own houses and rebuild until we get back. I just need to get something before we go." He ran back behind the house and returned with a bag.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"My old weapons."  
  
"What d'you want them for?"  
  
"I want to give them to Saria." Link started walking toward the entrance to the Lost Woods. "It's up here, through the log." Link scaled the vine- covered wall with one hand, carrying the bag on his wounded arm, and waited patiently for Sheik, who wasn't used to climbing the wall.  
  
Link chatted the whole way through the Lost Woods. Navi strongly suspected he had eaten a large amount of sugar before any of them had awakened.  
  
"I mean, I don't get why so many people get lost. It's so easy to find your way around, once you get used to it. I mean, you can't miss that pile of rocks, not unless you're blind. And I know some people who walk by here at least three of four times before they get it straight. I'm telling you, I know some pretty stupid people."  
  
"So do I," Sheik muttered.  
  
"Hey, that's not fair, don't pick on Navi like that."  
  
Navi huffed, and started to say something, but Sheik beat her to it. "I wasn't talking about Navi."  
  
"Oh? Who were you talking about then?"  
  
"Link, you're just proving my point."  
  
"Damn."  
  
Navi huffed again. "Watch it," she said, referring to his language. Silence followed.  
  
"Link, are you sure you know where you're going?" Sheik asked after a moment, sounding doubtful.  
  
"Of course I am. I practically lived here. Besides, I—" Link broke off.  
  
"What? What is it?" Sheik said, looking around. All she saw was a pool of water and four logs surrounding them. But she took a closer look, and saw a Kokiri boy that wasn't immediately distinguishable from the greenery on the log behind him.  
  
His eyes were large and fearful, although the boy seemed determined not to show it. He had no weapons, but a book lay open on the ground at his feet. He was wearing green like all the Kokiri, and he had bright orange hair, on top of which was a floppy green hat much like Link's.  
  
"Mido," Link muttered furiously. He marched straight up to Mido, and was surprised he had to look down. He used to have to look up to see Mido, but now...he was bigger than the bully.  
  
Link could get revenge right here right now for all the years that Mido tormented him, because he was the bigger person now. It would be unbelievably easy to humiliate him right here, to watch him cower in fear of someone bigger.  
  
"Who...who are you?" Mido asked, searching Link's face.  
  
Hate boiled deep inside of Link. He wished he could hit Mido so hard he would fly up into the burned treetops.  
  
But was that really the right thing to do? Was that what Saria would have done? What his father would have done?  
  
"D-didn't you hear me? Who are you?"  
  
"Chill out, kid," Link said, putting a strong emphasis on the word "kid," so he could be sure Mido knew he was the bigger person here. "I'm not going to hurt you. As much as I'd like to, I'm not."  
  
Navi breathed a sigh of relief from above Sheik's head. She had expected Link to completely fly off the handle. He had every right to, but she was glad he didn't.  
  
"I'm a spy. I pretended to work for Ganon, but now I'm here to rebuild the forest. You go on back to the village, they know how to fight and they should teach you too."  
  
"I'm not moving," said Mido. His voice shook, but there was a stubborn note to it. "Saria said not to let anybody by here, no matter what, if the Wolfos came back. And they did, so I'm guarding this place. I don't know the rest of the way, either, so I can't tell you. You're wasting your time. I'll never let you by here. Saria made me promise the only person I would ever let by this place was...was Link."  
  
You're so different, he thought. You're actually scared. It's insane. You're scared of me. I hardly believe it.  
  
Link shook his head. "Let us by, Mido."  
  
These words brought back memories that were so powerful and came so suddenly that Mido actually jumped as if some loud explosion had just disturbed the peace of the forest. When was the last time someone said that to him? Ah, yes...they had wanted to see the Deku Tree. And Mido had let Link by in the end, resulting in the old tree's death...well, he would not make that mistake again. He wouldn't let this person hurt Saria.  
  
"No," he said. His voice shook no longer. "Only Link can get by here. Saria said only Link would know how."  
  
And it dawned on Link what he had to do. Very slowly, he took out the Ocarina of Time. He played Saria's special song on it. The one she had taught him seven years ago when he came back to the forest. The one she played to lead him to her from the Goron Village. The one she had always played in their time together, in their own special place, the place of two best friends.  
  
Mido stared. Normally Saria had played that song in an upbeat happy way, he had only heard it played slowly like that a few times. One time in particular was after Link had left. She had missed that stupid boy so much. Too much. That boy had no right to hurt her like that. He shouldn't have killed the Deku Tree. Then Mido wouldn't have had to throw him out and hurt Saria.  
  
Link lowered the Ocarina of Time from his lips and looked Mido straight in the eye.  
  
"Let me by, Mido."  
  
Mido looked at Link for a very long time. "Will you find Saria?" he asked. "She's been gone too long. If I let you by, will you bring her back to me?" The usual sneer was not in his voice. There was actually a pleading note to it. It was almost as if Link was speaking to a different person than the one who had tortured him seven years ago.  
  
Then again, maybe he was a different person.  
  
"I'll do my best," Link promised.  
  
An understanding passed between them then. Not a spoken agreement, but something important all the same. They were to trust each other, if not for themselves, for Saria. Even Mido cared about her. And Link couldn't ever remember Mido caring about anyone.  
  
Without a word, Mido moved aside, never taking his eyes off of Link.  
  
Link walked past him without looking back. After a tentative moment, Sheik and Navi followed.  
  
"Mido," Link said, facing away from him, "Go back to your village. Your people need you."  
  
But Mido stood there looking after the three strangers for a very long time, even after they had disappeared into the thicket of burned trees.  
  
* * *  
  
Link didn't speak until they reached the Sacred Meadow. He made his way through the maze stealthily, wondering why there weren't creatures here trying to stop him from getting to the Temple. Last time there were Deku Scrubs everywhere, and now the whole place was as still as a stone.  
  
"It's so quiet," Navi said from Link's shoulder. Sheik nodded in agreement.  
  
And it was quiet. Link had always remembered the forest being peaceful, but....  
  
"I think it's too quiet," he muttered. "Keep your eyes open." Link turned another corner and was relieved to find the stairway that led up to the old temple in front of him. Surely, Saria was here. Surely, she was here. If she wasn't....  
  
He didn't know what he would do.  
  
Please, he found himself thinking as he went up the first flight of stairs, please let her be here. Please let her be here. Please.  
  
He reached the top of the stairs and hurried forward, Sheik and Navi hot on his heels, but was immediately knocked off of his feet and thrown backward on the stairway again. It seemed as if the ground had bucked underneath him. He got up, and looked around at Sheik, who was also getting to her feet.  
  
"What was that?" he mouthed.  
  
Sheik threw her hands up in the air. "How should I know?"  
  
Navi told them to shut up arguing and keep their voices down, and that she would be right back, because she was going to see what it was.  
  
"Be careful," Link called after her. He watched her go, then said quietly, "It felt like the ground just jumped underneath me. Was that what happened to you?"  
  
She nodded. "I heard a noise, too. Like...I don't know."  
  
"Yeah, I heard it too." Link shifted anxiously. Where was Saria? What was ahead? Had it gotten her? What if she was—?  
  
No! Link thought furiously. I'm not going to think it! I'm not! She's alive and I'm going to find her, even if I die trying.  
  
He shuddered and reminded himself that it was very possible. Very possible.  
  
"What, are you cold?" Sheik asked.  
  
"No," he admitted reluctantly. "I'm worried about Saria. Where is Navi?"  
  
"I'm right here," Navi said, flying back from the foggy distances ahead. "And don't think you aren't the most impatient person I've ever met."  
  
"All right, I won't. What was that thing?"  
  
"I think they're called moblins. It's carrying the biggest club I've ever seen in my life. That was what knocked you over. It's obviously been put there as a guard. Only I don't see how we can get past it."  
  
"Easy," said Link, and a grin broke across his face. "there's three of us, one of it, and it's probably as stupid as the day is long."  
  
"True," said Navi.  
  
"Maybe even more stupid."  
  
"Get on with it."  
  
"It was an idea, it wasn't a plan."  
  
Link and Navi both looked at Sheik, who thought a minute, and said, "I suppose we could outrun it. Two of us can run while the other distracts it, then we can trade off. And when we get close enough, we can try and take it out."  
  
"Are you kidding? That thing is huge!" Navi stretched her arms out for emphasis, but it was no good, they couldn't see through her light anyway.  
  
"Okay, so we won't try and take it out. But we have to get by it, don't we?" Sheik moved forward a little. "I'll go first. I'll run at the right and you two go left until it sees you, then get out of the way so Link can distract it for a minute. Oh, and don't forget to jump if he hits the ground with his club again." Sheik stretched for a minute, and Link stared at her as if she had three heads.  
  
"Do you realize how many things could go wrong with this? If our brains get smashed before we find Saria, I'm blaming it on you."  
  
"Yes, but if we're dead I won't care," Sheik said innocently, her eyes twinkling. Link could have sword she was trying not to laugh. But before he could say anything, she had started running near the right of the passage.  
  
"Hey, ugly, over here!" The moblin, now visible through a gap in the leaves and fog, turned its attention toward Sheik for a fraction of a second and Link took off down the other end of the passage, grabbing Navi and stuffing her in his pocket. She had shouted something at him, but he didn't hear her.  
  
Link taunted the moblin from his side of the passage as he had taunted Sheik earlier in the morning. He pulled a face at it, and then called it a few choice names. The moblin was too stupid to know exactly what Link meant, but it got angry enough to raise the club.  
  
"Sheik, look out, it's an earthquake!"  
  
"Eh?" Sheik turned her attention back to the moblin instead of running. "Uh- oh," she muttered.  
  
The two of them sprang into the air at just the right moment, and the wave caused by the club didn't send them flying backwards. This confused the moblin, because its club probably hadn't failed it before now. That gave Sheik time to distract it again, and Link took off.  
  
It took awhile, but they finally made it to the end of the passage. However, the moblin didn't stop there. It pursued them up the staircase. Link stopped halfway to the clearing where the temple was. If Saria was there, he couldn't let it hurt her.  
  
"Link, you go the other way! Surprise it!" Sheik yelled from the top of the stairs. Link went right, then left, trying to get back past it, then eventually had to go between its legs.  
  
But it was so big he had no idea where to start. Geez, he thought, that thing's got to be fifty feet high. Where do I hit it at? I can't even reach it's knee!  
  
In his moment of hesitation, the moblin turned toward him, and raised the club. Link knew there would be no jumping over this one. It would send him down the stairs and break several bones, if he was lucky.  
  
But it turned out that Link was luckier than he thought he'd be. Suddenly the mobin's eyes went wide, as if it where in pain. Then it toppled forward and down the stairs. Link moved just in time, leaping out of the way and practically hugging the wall to stop himself from being crushed.  
  
The moblin hit the ground below with a tremendous force, and Link felt his feet lose their grip on the earth again. This time, however, it wasn't quite as bad, since the blow wasn't aimed to kill and coming from a two ton club.  
  
Link felt the wind being knocked out of him and it took a moment before he could breathe enough to get up.  
  
"What did you do to it?" he asked Sheik.  
  
"I didn't do anything."  
  
"Then what...?"  
  
Navi flew out of Link's pocket and up the stairs. "Look!"  
  
Link turned and ran after her, hoping past hope that Saria was up there. If she wasn't...what would he do?  
  
When Link got to the top of the stairs, he stopped so suddenly that Sheik almost ran into him.  
  
Standing on the old tree was the cloaked person Link had met in the ruins of the Inn. He had several spears in his hand. He put them in a quiver on his back and jumped down.  
  
"You need to watch yourself, if I hadn't killed it, it would have killed you."  
  
"Yeah," Link muttered. "What are you doing here?" He frowned. "Were you following us?"  
  
"I was until yesterday afternoon. I ran across the boy guarding the path and I warped here rather than get by him."  
  
"You warped?" Sheik said. "How?"  
  
"Same way you warp to the Temple of Time. There's a certain song you can play. Here, it goes like this." The man took out a black ocarina and played something on it, then there was a flash of green light and he was standing in the middle of the clearing.  
  
Link frowned. "Saria used to hum that all the time, why didn't she disappear?"  
  
"Simple, she wasn't using an instrument. By the way, in case you're wondering where she is," the man said—Link tensed, he had noticed that the man was the only person in the clearing—"She's in there. Could you think of a more fitting Forest Sage?"  
  
"What?" Link gasped. "She's in there?"  
  
"Didn't the children tell you how she vanished?"  
  
"N-no...."  
  
"In a flash of green light, five years ago. She's a sage. And she's trapped in the temple by whatever monsters it's infested with. According to the laws of legend, she has to stay there until she finds her medallion, then she can go to the Sacred Realm, if she chooses to do so."  
  
"You're kidding," Link said weakly.  
  
"I wish. Oh, I nearly forgot, I've been following you because you forgot something."  
  
"Huh? What did I forget?"  
  
Sheik actually laughed. "Link, look at your arm and tell me you don't know what you forgot."  
  
Link looked down. "What, a shield? I don't have one, I left the old one in the Inn."  
  
"And I brought back for you. Here," said the man. He tossed Link a Hylian shield and Link could actually see the scorch marks on it, where King Dodongo had blown his flame.  
  
"Thanks," said Link; he was surprised, but gratified. This would definitely prevent him from losing his arm the next time a Wolfos decided it was hungry. "Where'd you get it?"  
  
"I told you, I recovered it from the Inn."  
  
Link eyed him warily, and Sheik said sarcastically, "You didn't by chance threaten anyone with that harmless knife of yours to get it, did you?"  
  
"No." He pulled out the knife to examine it. "But I might."  
  
Sheik snorted. "I'd like to see you try."  
  
"Please," Navi said. "We need to go, we don't have time to act like children. You mind telling us how to get in there?"  
  
"Should I?" the man asked. "You're being awfully rude, if you ask me."  
  
"I wasn't," said Link, and he glared at Sheik. She glared back at him.  
  
"Here," the man said again, and he threw something to Link. It looked like a very short retractable spear with a handle. "This is a hookshot," the man said. "It was Dampé's, but...." the man bowed his head. "He died about a year ago. He and I were friends, and he left it to me. It'll get you in the Temple. It's not yours forever, though. I'll be coming after you to get it back after Ganon's gone."  
  
"Ah. How do I work it? No, wait, how do I hold it?"  
  
"Just put your finger where the trigger is. Pull, and the point shoots out and sticks to everything but metal and stone. Pull it again, and it retracts. If it's stuck in something, you'll be pulled up with it. That's what the chain is for, and that' how I got up on that tree to sleep last night." The man studied Link evenly. "You play the ocarina well."  
  
"Yeah, thanks," Link muttered, angry that the stranger had heard him.  
  
"Go on, Link," Navi said. "Try it."  
  
Link gave her the are-you-nuts-or-something look, but Sheik decided to gang up on him.  
  
"Yeah, go on, Link. It's not that far down if you fall."  
  
"It's not? Then why don't you try it?"  
  
"Are you a hero or a cucco? C'mon, haven't you got any guts at all?"  
  
"Fine," grumbled Link. No way he was going to let her get away with that one. He positioned the hookshot, aimed, and pulled the trigger.  
  
There was a loud bang, and Link saw the point hit the top branch of the tree, above the landing at the temple's door.  
  
Sheik didn't expect him to go any further, and she was teasing him when the bang sounded again. She looked up to see him yank the point out of the tree and smirk at her.  
  
"Well?" he said, and the man started laughing. "C'mon, Sheik, are you a cucco? Haven't you got any guts?" He threw the hookshot down to her. "You have to get up here too, you know."  
  
Sheik glared. But hey, anything Link could do, she could do better.  
  
It took awhile to summon her courage, but eventually she and Link were both standing on the landing. Link was still prone to laugh at her, but the cloaked man waved at them cheerfully, starting off toward the exit, and Link realized he hadn't got to ask the man where Johan was. He didn't know if he would tell or not, but he wanted to try.  
  
"Good luck, I'll be waiting on you when you get out," the man called.  
  
"Stop stalking us!" Sheik yelled at him.  
  
But he just walked away, and before Link could call him back, he had gone.  
  
AN: ...does anyone else see the humor in Sheik throwing things at Link? No? Oh well. I don't think Link did. Anyway. The comp is coming on the fourteenth, but I'm going to see if I can squeeze another chapter in before then. Chapter TWENTY. I'm in the twenties!! Plus I already have about 85,000 words! (Roughly. More on word, because I've edited it and added a prologue, but less on ff.net, cause I haven't reposted anything I've edited.) Anyway, you get pie if you review...please? Wish my muses good luck. Ciao! 


	16. Chapter Twenty: The Search for Saria

Author's Note: Oh yes! I got twenty chaps! Woo-hoo! Yes yes yes yes yes! Sorry, I just feel so accomplished. I really have nothing to say here except the usual "I hope you like the chapter" but I couldn't resist gloating. Twenty chapters and almost 90,000 words. This thing is turning out to be a real thick book, eh?  
  
Chapter Twenty: The Search for Saria  
  
"Damn," Link muttered sourly. "I didn't get to ask him about Johan."  
  
"Like he'd tell you any more than he did last time," Navi reminded Link.  
  
"Yeah—hey, wait up!"  
  
Sheik had walked into the temple door without him, and Link had to hurry to catch up.  
  
"Thanks for waiting," Link said sarcastically, shooting a glare at Sheik. Sheik ignored him.  
  
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she said, looking around, then up at the ceiling. "If it weren't for the fact that there wasn't a sky, I would think I was still outside."  
  
It was true. There was a stone staircase and door in front of them, but the walls were covered in a thick layer of vines that creeped up the walls and touched the ceiling. The floor was earthy, and a few blades of grass poked up through the dirt here and there. There were even two trees in the room, though their long, gnarled, branches were dry and leafless. Link guessed they had been much more impressive when the temple wasn't infested with monsters.  
  
"Most of the forest used to be the other way around," Link said bitterly, putting a heavy emphasis on the words "used to be."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"The leaves were so thick the rain hardly ever fell to the ground, just ran down the trees and made little puddles around the roots." Link scanned the ceiling too, as if hoping to see some leaves there that had survived the evil. There were none.  
  
"Hey," Sheik said, pointing up toward something, "What's that?"  
  
Link looked to where she was pointing. There was something on top of one of the trees in the room.  
  
"I can't see it. Navi, would you—?"  
  
"I'm going, I'm going." Navi flew up to the top of the tree. "It's a chest," she called. "But—it's stuck. I can't get it open." She flew back down to them. "Guess we'll have to leave it."  
  
"No way," said Link. "I wanna know what's in there. I'll get it."  
  
Sheik stared at him. "How?" she asked. "It's on top of a tree that's twenty feet high."  
  
"So? There's vines on the walls. They're thick in that spot there—" he pointed it out to her, "enough so I can climb to the top of the first tree."  
  
"Okay, genius, how do you plan on getting to the other one?"  
  
"Simple, I'll jump."  
  
"And if you miss?"  
  
"I won't miss! You worry too much. Here, hold this." He gave the hookshot to her and ran over to the wall. He looked at it carefully, then started climbing. It didn't take him long to get to the top of the first tree. He saw Sheik and Navi down below, the size of dogs.  
  
"You okay?" Sheik called.  
  
"Oh, I'm fine, just a little worried about falling and cracking my skull open."  
  
"I did warn you, Link," Sheik said, raising an eyebrow. Navi wasn't so good at concealing her amusement. She burst into a fit of giggles.  
  
"Shut up," Link snapped. "If you have to know, I'm just worried how you two would get along without me." This was partly true. He was worried how they would get along without him, but he was also worried about falling.  
  
"I'd do just fine," Sheik lied, to save her dignity. Yeah, she thought wryly, like I've been doing for the last seven years. I'll be just peachy.  
  
"Well, I wouldn't," Navi declared, and she flew up to join him. Link gave her a grateful look.  
  
"Thanks," he whispered sheepishly. "I was only telling half the truth." Then he looked forward and carefully made his way along the branch. Navi sat on his shoulder, smiling to herself. From the ground below, Sheik held her breath.  
  
He got to the end of the first branch with ease, being as careful as he could. He stopped before he got to the end of it, then jumped.  
  
Sheik stifled a shriek of fright, but Link heard it, and after he landed, he smirked at Navi. Sure, she'd be fine without him, all right. Just for fun, he gave a fake wobble, and said, "Whoa!"  
  
"Link!" Sheik said. "Watch it!"  
  
Navi couldn't stop herself from laughing. She covered her mouth to hide the noise.  
  
"Why?" said Link sarcastically, sounding as though he didn't care. "You'll do just fine without me." He laughed quietly. "See if she can get out of that one," he added to Navi in an undertone. Link got to the end of the tree and to the chest without any further delay. When he got to the chest, he had to kick it several times before the rusted lock would break.  
  
"It's a key," he called, frowning, as he groped around inside the dark, musty chest. "Just a stupid key."  
  
"That's great," Sheik heard herself say against her will. "Now get down from there before you break your neck."  
  
It took him awhile to make it back down to the ground, but when he did, he couldn't help feeling a bit grateful.  
  
"So now what?" Link asked cheerfully, satisfied that he had gotten revenge on Sheik.  
  
"Now we go through the door, which is what we should have done in the first place."  
  
"Ooooh, touchy, touchy. What, you'll miss me after all?"  
  
"Watch it, Link," said Navi quietly, trying not to laugh. Sheik ignored him.  
  
Sheik walked to the stone entrance and pulled the handle of the door, but before she could get it open, two Wolfos appeared out of nowhere and attacked them.  
  
Link's shield arm was still wounded, but it was at least covered, so he didn't have much trouble with his Wolfos. Sheik, on the other hand, wasn't quite fast enough to deliver more than a glancing blow to hers, so Link had to step in and help at the last second.  
  
"Thanks," Sheik said grudgingly. He fought better than she did, and he had a bandaged arm!  
  
"No problem."  
  
Link pulled the door open this time, and they walked inside.  
  
The hallway was damp and dark. Navi had to lead the way because she was the light, but Link and Sheik followed her closely.  
  
Suddenly, she screeched, and flew backwards, hitting Link on the forehead.  
  
"Ow! What was that for?"  
  
"Look!"  
  
Link looked. He was glad they had stopped, or they would have run straight into a skulltula that was hanging a few inches below the ceiling. He took care of it quickly with his sword, and watched as its body burst into blue flame.  
  
For some reason, Link couldn't think of a good joke. Wordlessly, he shrugged, and continued down the hall. Navi was a little more reluctant to go first, but Link insisted.  
  
"What if we meet another one? Navi, you just saved our lives with that fairy light of yours. You wouldn't let anyone else go first, now that you know what's out there, would you?"  
  
In the end, she went first just to shut him up. Luckily, they got through the rest of the hall without seeing anything else.  
  
Link let out a low whistle when they got through the next door. It wasn't hard to see why. The main chamber was an eight-sided room with an elaborate door on each side. Some of the doors had what had probably once been beautiful marble staircases leading up to them. In the middle was some sort of altar. It had four stone pillars surrounding a flat square of marble covered in a ragged rug.  
  
"Whoever built this sure did have some fun with it," Link said. "Probably the original sage...geez, this is so weird. My best friend is the sage of the forest!" Link got quiet then, wondering if he still had a best friend, or if she was—  
  
"So, where to first?" Navi asked, trying to take his mind off Saria.  
  
"Ah, I dunno. Straight ahead?"  
  
"Good idea, we won't get lost," Sheik said from under her mask. She walked down the staircase they were standing on, and was about to cross the room when she stopped.  
  
"Sheik?" Link asked. "What's—" but he stopped. He didn't have to ask; he could feel it too. They were not alone in the room.  
  
Link vaguely recognized the feeling from the time in Jabu Jabu's stomach, but he dismissed the thought. He needed to concentrate on whatever it was in the room that wanted to hurt them.  
  
All of the sudden, in the middle of the room where the "altar" was, four multicolored flames lit up on top of the pillars of stone. Sheik yelped and took a step back. The flames then spread out, danced across the room, and vanished.  
  
"What was that?" Link said.  
  
Sheik shook her head. "Did you..." she stopped.  
  
"Did I what?"  
  
"It sounds crazy."  
  
"Oh, in that case, go right ahead. I wouldn't expect any different."  
  
Sheik glared at him. "Did you...feel it?"  
  
Link nodded, serious now. "Yeah. That's happened to me before, actually. Hey, Navi, did you feel anything?"  
  
Navi numbly shook her head, then, remembering that they wouldn't be able to see it through her light, she managed to speak. "No." I'm crazy, she told herself. I'm absolutely nuts. It isn't true. It can't be!  
  
"Hmm, that's weird," Sheik said. "There was definitely something there."  
  
"Forget about it, Sheik," Link said. "We have to find Saria." He walked down the stairs, crossed the room, an went up the stairs on the other side.  
  
"What's behind door number one?" he asked with fake enthusiasm. Sheik walked up to him and opened the door, then shoved him inside first.  
  
"No fair," Link complained from inside the room.  
  
"It's safe?" Sheik asked.  
  
"Of course it's not. Don't you see all the hideous beasts attacking me from all sides? Yes, it's safe. And I think you're a cucco for making me go first."  
  
Sheik ignored him and walked into the room, followed by Navi. It was circular, with a stone floor. It was also empty in every sense. There wasn't even a rug near the door.  
  
"I guess door number one was a dud," said Navi. "There's nothing here, c'mon."  
  
So they turned around and started to go back out of the room. But bloodstained bars on the door came crashing down before they could get out, and two skeletal warriors walked out of the shadows, weapons drawn.  
  
"A...stalfos?" Link had seen these before. In the Lost Woods. Only none of the other Kokiri had ever been able to see them. None of them except Saria....  
  
"You can see those?" Sheik asked, surprised. The claws came out of her suit menacingly.  
  
"Yeah," said Link drawing his sword. "The only people I knew who could see them were me and Saria."  
  
The battle began. Link was shocked to find that he was actually having fun. Maybe fighting monsters made of bones that were ready to run him through at any given moment had its downsides, but he found himself grinning, having the time of his life, while fighting with a sword.  
  
The Stalfos gave no quarter and asked for none in return. They fought silently, but in a frenzied way, as if addicted to killing. Link was actually happy for a little challenge. He knew he shouldn't have been, but he was. He got rid of his Stalfos easily, even though his Deku Nuts hadn't had any effect on it, because it didn't have eyes. He decided to spare Sheik a little dignity and let her finish the other one off on her own.  
  
"Where did you learn to fight, anyway, military school? Not only did you kill yours first, you looked like you were having a damn good time doing it," Sheik said, ignoring Navi's huff at her language. "I hate giving out compliments, but...geez, Link, you fight better than some of the Knights of Hyrule did."  
  
Navi glowed with pride inwardly, though she didn't know exactly why. Of course he fought better than some of the Knights had! His father had been the best Knights on the force!  
  
Link just shrugged and grinned. "I'm lucky? Actually, you're probably not going to believe me, but I didn't learn how to fight anywhere. I just picked up a sword and I kept getting better."  
  
"You're kiddi—what's that?"  
  
"What's what?"  
  
"I think it's a chest." Sheik walked over to the back wall, which was mostly hidden in shadow. She bent down, inspecting something. "Another key," she said. "Better keep it, who knows what it'll unlock?"  
  
"Bet you anything Saria knows," Link said, to annoy her. He had said it without thinking, because Saria had always known everything, but as soon as Saria returned to his thoughts, he began to worry again.  
  
Sheik started to say something back to him, but then she caught his look and left it alone. "Well, door number one was a dud," she said, to break the silence. "C'mon, we'll try another." She walked over to the barred door, and the bars retracted back into the wall, leaving their path clear.  
  
Link nodded quickly and walked out into the main chamber. Sheik followed him.  
  
"Now which one?" he asked, closing his eyes and spinning around. Sheik didn't answer, so he held his hand out and stopped. He was facing wall to their right. He looked back at Sheik.  
  
"Don't look at me like that. You go first," Sheik said.  
  
"But I went first last time!" Link protested, frowning.  
  
"So?"  
  
"For the love of Nayru," Navi muttered. "I'll go first, you cuccos. Is someone gonna pull the knob open for me or not?"  
  
"Yeah," Link said haughtily, "I will, cause I'm going first. I am so not a cucco." Link pulled open the door and walked inside.  
  
The better term might have been outside. When he looked up, he could actually see the sky. The floor was made of dirt as it had been in the first room. There was even a small river flowing through the place. The walls here were covered in ivy, and they stretched so far up that Link couldn't see the tops; they were enveloped in fog.  
  
"Wow," Sheik said. "This is...amazing. This is just incredible."  
  
Saria would be right at home here, Link thought miserably. It's so beautiful. She would love it. I wonder if she's been here yet.  
  
Navi saw Link was worrying again, and she decided to try and take his mind off of it. "This room isn't just here for decoration, though. There is most definitely something we're missing."  
  
Link perked up. "Yeah? Like wh—oh, that," he said, spotting a landing about fifteen feet up the wall. He couldn't see it very well, but he was sure there was a door up there as well.  
  
"What?" said Navi, not aware that he thought she knew what they were missing.  
  
Link laughed. "There's a door up there on top of the world. I thought you saw it and wanted me to get it for myself."  
  
"I—oh, I-I did. And, well, you...found it. Now, how are we getting up there?"  
  
"Open your eyes, you two," Sheik said irritably. "We have to get rid of the spiders first."  
  
Navi shivered. "I hate those things," she said. "Link, I know you're a good shot, but you don't have anything to shoot with, and this fog is going to make seeing those things really hard. So maybe we should just double back and—"  
  
Bang! The hookshot went off, and the point soared towards the nearest spider. It missed, causing Link to curse angrily under his breath. Sheik laughed a little, but tried to hide it. The truth was, she wouldn't have thought to use the hookshot, and it was a damn good idea in her opinion.  
  
Link yanked the hookshot sharply, and the point fell down to the ground and retracted back into the weapon. "Hey, Navi," he said, squinting at the skulltulas above him, "you want to go up there and fly around that thing so I can see where I'm shooting? The light might burn off the fog."  
  
"You're not that good a shot. What if you shoot me?"  
  
"Would I do that to you?" Link asked in a hurt voice. "C'mon, in worked in Jabu Jabu's belly, didn't it? When we were trapped in that huuuuge pit of water?"  
  
She thought back. Hey, she had done that in Jabu Jabu's belly! I can't believe I forgot, she thought. And it seems like such a short time to him.  
  
"Huh?" Sheik asked, raising an eyebrow. "Just where did you go to get those stones?"  
  
"To hell and back." Link grinned, and Navi scolded him about his language.  
  
"No, seriously," Sheik said.  
  
"I am serious. I went inside a tree, took a fifty foot jump, and killed a giant spider to get the first, dealt with a stubborn Goron and killed the biggest dodongo ever for the second, and for the third, I escorted a snobby Zora princess through the digestive system of a fish, barely got out of marrying her, and nearly got both me and Navi killed by a blind electric jellyfish. So I think I can safely say I went to hell and back to get my hands on those things before Ganon did."  
  
"...I can't decide if you're brave or just stupid."  
  
Link glared at her. Then he said to Navi, acting as if Sheik wasn't there, "Do you think you could fly up and target them? I swear to Farore I won't hit anything but the spiders."  
  
"All ri-ight, but if you hit me—"  
  
"I won't!"  
  
"'Kay." Navi flew up to the first skulltula, her light burning through some of the fog and giving Link clear vision. He aimed with the hookshot and fired.  
  
Bang! It hit the skull of the spider and knocked it off of the vines. Link had to swallow a little harder than usual as he watched it scurry away into the dark corners of the "room".  
  
He took out two more, and when Navi had reported that he had gotten them all, he and Sheik started climbing the ivy-covered wall.  
  
"Told you I wouldn't hit you," Link said as he scaled the wall. "Are we there yet?"  
  
"Almost," said Navi.  
  
Link felt the vines end abruptly and a smooth, horizontal surface took their place. "Yes!" He pulled himself onto the landing and held out his hand to help Sheik up. She took it and pulled herself onto the landing.  
  
"I really dunno how you do it," she said, trying to keep her breathing steady. "I hate climbing vines."  
  
Link saw right through it and knew she wasn't quite up to it. For some reason, he decided against saying something that would annoy her and just shrugged his shoulders. "I probably hated it too, at some point. But I can't remember hating it, cause Saria got me climbing the vines that go to the Lost Woods as soon as I could walk." He laughed softly. "Before that, she said she carried me piggyback if she had to. Everyone thought she was crazy, but...she never could keep herself out of these woods." There was an odd hoarse sound to Link's voice.  
  
Link missed her so much. He missed her so much. She herself was his earliest memory, and his only happy memory of the forest. She had always stood up for him and taken care of him. If he fell down and skinned his knees, she would put herbs on them to heal the wounds, and give him ice so it wouldn't sting. If he couldn't sleep, she had read him bedtime stories. Whenever he cried, she had wiped away his tears and made him laugh.  
  
When he got older, she taught him how to do things by himself, instead of needing help. She had taught him the way around the Lost Woods, how to befriend Skull Kids, which herbs were bad and which ones could heal fatal wounds in a second, and, no matter what the case, whenever he got picked on, she had always been there, always. She had never failed, not once, to stand up for him against Mido or any other person who picked on him. She had never failed to be there when he needed her. Never.  
  
Except now.  
  
Navi and Sheik stayed quiet, watching Link stare off into nothing, unsure what to say. The silence was just beginning to get awkward when Link abruptly turned around and opened the door. "Are you two coming, or not?" he said, trying to swallow the hard lump that had risen in his throat.  
  
The room was a small rectangle, with a few bushes and some grassy areas. There was a chest against one wall, and Link walked over to it to have an excuse to face away from them.  
  
"What do you think?" he joked, pretending to sound scared. "What horrors will emerge from this?" Without waiting for an answer, he kicked it open and groped around. There was a small square of folded paper in one corner.  
  
"What is it?" Sheik asked.  
  
"I dunno. A piece of paper...hey," he exclaimed, unfolding it, "I think this is a map!"  
  
"You're kidding," Navi said, flying over to look at it.  
  
But it was. An entire layout of the temple was written on the piece of paper before him. "This is going to make things a lot easier," Link said. "It even has where are the chests are."  
  
Sheik walked over to them, and Link stood up to show her. "This is great. No more guesswork."  
  
"There's a note on the back," Navi said.  
  
"Read it," Link urged, turning the map over. Without waiting for her to do it, he read the note out loud so they could both hear what it said.  
  
"To whoever finds this map, please help me out of here and back to my village. I know if you can see the chest, then your intentions must be good. I have been trapped in the temple by the creatures here for almost four years, ever since Ganon tore down Hyrule Castle and built his fortress. I thank the Goddesses I was lucky enough to discover the map and its magic of only being useful to those who have come here in the name of peace. If you are here to stop Ganon, I will be happy to help you. I can use my powers as the Forest Sage with the other sages to imprison him. But Ganon knows this...he has a phantom of himself looking for me all through the temple. I don't know how much longer I can hide from him, and I'm afraid if he catches me, he'll take my medallion pieces. I don't know what power the medallion has, but I know he wants it very badly, so, about six months ago, I divided it into three pieces. I hid two and kept the other piece with me so that nothing would happen to it. If he catches me, he will have one piece, but only I can restore it as a whole. I don't know how much good it will do, but it's the only thing I know to do. If the phantom has caught me by the time you read this, know that the phantom occupies the basement of the temple, and will probably keep me there. He can't hurt me until he has the entire medallion, because I am the only one who can restore it. If for some reason I never make it back to my village, please find a Kokiri boy named Link and tell him what happened to me, and that I never forgot him through the years, and no matter how much time passes by, I never will.  
  
—Saria, Forest Sage."  
  
Link was silent for a moment, then he said, "That phantom...it must have caught her. But this could have been written seven years ago or yesterday! I don't even know if she's still...."  
  
"No," Sheik said. "A little over a year ago. She left a date. When Ganon built the fortress. That happened five years ago, and she said in the letter it happened four years ago. The phantom must have gotten the piece she had, if it caught her...but something evil couldn't touch the medallion unless the sage handed it over willingly. The phantom would have had to find the other two pieces and get her to pick them up and hand them to him before he had the whole thing."  
  
"She wouldn't do it," Link said immediately. "Not giving it the medallion was the only way to ensure her safety and keep it away from Ganon at the same time."  
  
Sheik shook her head. "Sometimes, no matter what kind of physical torture someone is put through, they won't give in. But after five minutes of seeing their loved ones in pain, the mental torture kicks in and they'll do anything to make it stop. You...you won't like to hear this, but the phantom might have hurt her mind and heart in ways that he couldn't hurt her otherwise. Everyone has a mental weakness, just like everyone has a physical weakness. The phantom could have easily forced her to give him the medallion by threatening to harm the things she loved."  
  
"She would do anything to protect what she cares about," Link said slowly. "Even giving up the medallion...and once she did that...Ganon would have had no use for her....she would have been a danger to him...and...."  
  
"She still might be here!" Navi said. "Don't give up, she wouldn't want you to give up. It would take a lot for her to give up the medallion pieces. There's a chance that even if he got all three, he wouldn't have known how to restore it, or that he didn't even get all three pieces. And Ganon wouldn't have her hurt until the medallion was completely whole again, or there would be a chance that he could still be imprisoned. He wouldn't take that chance. I know he wouldn't."  
  
"She still might be here?" Link asked, his voice almost pleading.  
  
It broke Sheik's heart. "Link, I'm sure she's still here. I'm sure of it. If she wasn't...something would have happened. I don't know what, but something would have signified that the world was short of one sage."  
  
"We have to find her," he said. "We have to." He looked at the map. "There's another courtyard through the opposite door. There might be something there. C'mon, let's go," he said forcefully.  
  
He wasn't going to lose her. She had protected him against the world for ten years. It was time to return the favor.  
  
AN: Ouch. Angsty there at the end. Eh well. It isn't the best thing I've ever done, but it's a chapter. Poor Linky. Anyways, we get the new computer tomorrow, I mean, hooked up, and I won't be able to use it for several days cause my brother will have it. Then I'll just have to enjoy five minutes of peace on it without it rebooting. Plus I been having inspiration problems. (If ANYONE has a cure for this I will pay you in blood if you tell me what it is.) What I'm trying to say is, enjoy this chap, cause it's gonna be a looong time before I get another one done. Pray for my Muses. Oo'  
  
--Gemini Sage 


	17. Chapter TwentyOne: The Forest Sage

Author's Note: I have new compy. Me happy. Eee! *celebrates* My first chapter running a REAL computer! Free at last! ^^ This is a bit long, and more than a bit angsty. I've been out of whack lately. ^^' Hope you like it regardless.  
  
Chapter Twenty-One: The Forest Sage  
  
With a forceful blow, Link delivered the final blow to a stalfos, sending the bones cascading all around the room. There had been five in the room, and he and Sheik had had a lot of difficulty staying alive. But their efforts had been worth it. In the darkest area of the room, he had unearthed a chest, which contained a bow made from the forest's wood, and a quiver packed to the brim with arrows.  
  
It had taken them a very long time to reach the room where the stalfos has lay in waiting for them. They had gone through the courtyards (they had found a set of Deku Babas the size of the moblin guarding the entrance to the meadow), through a room with blocks as large as boulders blocking their way (Link and Sheik had worked together to shove them out of the way), and had finally gone to the circular room. The floor in the middle had evaporated, and five Stalfos had leapt at them, wanting to see blood on their swords. The bars had crashed down around the only exit, blocking their way out.  
  
They had barely managed to stay alive.  
  
At one point, Sheik was sure they were finished, but Link kept fighting. He didn't give up. His resolve had not wavered once, his determination never swayed, and whatever trouble they had got in, he had gotten them out. The thought of Saria had carried them all through endless battles and perils.  
  
"This is great," said Link energetically. "I can shoot with something other than this dammed hookshot. I mean, it's useful," he said loudly, over Navi's scolding, "but really, it has no aim at all. Geez, this thing's gotta have a hundred arrows in it."  
  
The bars lifted slowly, so that everyone had a good chance to examine the pointed ends, stained with blood.  
  
"Someone remind me when I applied for this job. Just to refresh my memory." Link gave them a very clear well-I'm-waiting look.  
  
Navi rolled her eyes. "Link, in case you haven't noticed, we can't get to the basement. It's blocked! And there's no other room in the temple we haven't been in already."  
  
"What?" Link said. "No!" He snatched the map out of his pocket and raced back to the center room. Sure enough, the "alter" was where the trapdoor leading to the basement was supposed to be, and so far, they had not found a way to dislodge the thing. Bombs hadn't had any affect.  
  
"Damn it!" he said. "Damn it! Is everything I do jinxed?"  
  
Navi was about to reply, to try and say something to comfort him, when he froze. Sheik froze with him.  
  
"What is it?" Navi asked.  
  
"It's here again...."  
  
All at once, the four multicolored flames that had appeared to them before appeared again, coming back in from the rooms around them. They twisted and writhed, then took shape.  
  
They were ghosts. Not just any ghosts, poes. They circled around the three people in the room, the circle getting tighter every second.  
  
"I'm not so sure I can get us out of this one," Link muttered. "How'm I supposed to kill something that's already dead?"  
  
"Can you use magic?" Sheik asked. "I can, but if I do...."  
  
There was no need to finish the sentence.  
  
"I can't use magic, if I could, this would have gone a lot faster."  
  
"Then I have a feeling we're going to die in the next ten minutes."  
  
"No!" Link and Navi said in unison.  
  
"Not now," Link said. "We've come too far." The circle of ghosts tightened around them. "I won't give up, not yet! Saria's down there and I am going to find her. You can get your ass kicked if you want to, but I'm going to give it all I've got."  
  
With that, Link rushed forward, swinging his sword. It went through the ghost in front of him. But the fire that the ghost shot back didn't go through Link. He winced and cried out as the heat of the flames his right arm, the one with the shield and the bandage. His arm wasn't injured by the fire, but it still hurt.  
  
"Sheik, do something!" Link snarled at her, swinging his sword through another poe and dodging a ball of fire.  
  
"Like what?" Sheik was at a loss. Unless she used magic, they were finished. But they were worse than finished if she gave away her identity. Then she had an idea.  
  
"Link, give me your quiver," she said, snatching it off of his back.  
  
"Okaaay." Link's tone of voice said clearly that he was worried about her sanity. He looked at her for a second, then remembered he was in battle. He whirled around to find another ghost ready to shoot flames and he ducked. "Whatever you're doing, hurry up!"  
  
Sheik muttered something in Old Hylian while holding the quiver, and, for a small second, it glowed. She was extremely worried that this might've given away her identity, but she didn't have a choice. When Link ducked again, she tossed the quiver to him.  
  
"Shoot them with those," she said.  
  
Link shrugged on the quiver and took out his new bow. Was it just him, or did the point seem brighter than he remembered?  
  
He dodged another ball of flame and Sheik yelled at the ghosts to distract them. When he had gotten to a safe distance, Link drew out an arrow and fired at the nearest ghost, a red one.  
  
Direct hit. The ghost cringed, and fell to the floor, where it burst into flames. The fire moved to one of the pillars in the room.  
  
"Whoa, Sheik, this rocks," Link murmured. Then he noticed a glowing spot where the ghost had been. He dismissed the thought and concentrated on the others.  
  
When Link had taken out the blue and green ghosts, the spots left on the floor glowed bright purple and took the form of the last ghost. Link cursed and shot at one of them. It disappeared. "I can't believe it. What is this, guess the ghost? Sheik, which one is the r—whoa!" Link ducked as one of the forms shot fire at him.  
  
Navi was darting around, in between the purple blurs, and when she approached one, her light turned from a healthy white to a pale, sickly yellow. "This one," she shouted to Link, trying not to throw up.  
  
He saw which one she was talking about, and drew an arrow out of his quiver. Navi moved away, unable to stay near the poe, but Link kept his eyes on the it, took aim, and fired.  
  
It fell to the floor, and the purple fire lit up. Sheik, who was standing in the middle of the room, yelped and jumped backwards as the floor beneath her began to rumble. A brown square of stone rose up from the floor and smashed into a hundred pieces. Link grabbed Navi, stuffed her in his pocket, and covered his eyes.  
  
When the dust from the explosion had settled, Link could see a trap door. His hope that Saria was still alive and that he would be able to find her returned to full force, but his worries that he would be too late returned with it.  
  
He and Sheik glanced at each other from across the room, the back at the trapdoor.  
  
"Do you want to go first?" Sheik asked.  
  
Link nodded, and took Navi out of his pocket. She fluttered up to his shoulder and sat down. Link took a deep breath and walked over to the trapdoor. He kicked it in and it fell open, revealing a ladder. The feeling he had just before he discovered his home in ruins was starting to kick in again.  
  
He had to know if she was okay or not. He was afraid to go down into that basement, for fear of what he would find, but the not knowing was as bad as the worst being true.  
  
Link climbed down the ladder slowly. Navi and torches at the bottom of the ladder lit his way. His foot hit the stone floor with an echoing sound. Sheik came down behind him, her feet hitting the floor silently, in a catlike way.  
  
The room, or what little Link could see of it, was round, with a red rug on the floor. The had stepped down into the center of it from above. There were torches around the ladder, but all of the walls were concealed by darkness. It was utterly silent and cold, like a tomb.  
  
Then a voice from the wall ahead of them shattered the silence.  
  
"If you came back for the medallion, you're too early. I'm not giving it to you yet. I might not ever give it to you. So go away."  
  
Link's heart leapt into his throat. "S-Saria? Saria, is that you?" He walked forward, and Navi stayed on his shoulder to light the way. Sheik, feeling like an intruder to a funeral, stayed at the ladder.  
  
"Saria, are you okay?" Link asked. He could just make out the form of several bars ahead of them. A cage.  
  
"Huh?" the voice said. "Who is that?" Link walked closer, and he could make out the dark outline of a small child. A Kokiri.  
  
"What do you want?" the voice asked. "Who are you?" The figure stood up and walked to the bars, and Navi's light illuminated Saria's face.  
  
Her was tangled and dirty. There were several places in her clothes that had been ripped; some of these places sported dried blood. She had a cut above her left eye, and she was holding her right arm at a strange angle, as if afraid to move it.  
  
"Saria!" Link said, shocked. "Saria, what happened to you?"  
  
There was an odd expression on her face; it seemed defiant, afraid, disbelieving, but she looked at peace as well.  
  
"Who are you, friend?" she asked. "You're not the phantom. I was afraid he would be back early." She sighed. Her mind seemed to be a thousand miles away. "You know, you look a lot like my friend Link. Except he's a little boy."  
  
A lone tear slipped down Saria's cheek, but other than that, she was still devoid of emotion. "The reason I thought you were the phantom...it's because two days ago he told me he had found Link, and he would give me three days to think about giving him the last piece of the medallion and restoring it. He said...if I didn't...Link would die...I only wanted to see Link again one more time...."  
  
She smiled a little. "Maybe you only look like him because I'm dreaming. I've been here so long I lose track of the real world sometimes. Or maybe it's just wishful thinking. I miss him so much." Her eyes remained unfocused; she was still very far away from them.  
  
Link knelt down so they could see each other better. Navi stayed on his shoulder, not saying a word.  
  
"Saria, don't give it to him. No matter what. Look at me, okay? I'm Link."  
  
From her place at the ladder, Sheik heard a shocked gasp.  
  
Saria's mind snapped back into the real world in two seconds. "N-no you're not. Link...he's ten years old, like me." But Saria's forest-green eyes reluctantly met Link's bright blue ones, and in a matter of seconds, she knew. This was Link. The little boy she had raised since he was a tiny baby.  
  
"Link?" she whispered, her eyes wide, not daring to believe it. Link nodded, very slowly, and she started crying.  
  
"I was so worried," she sobbed. "I was so afraid you had died. I thought you were gone forever. And then he told me you were alive...." Saria dissolved into tears. She cried for several more minutes before speaking again.  
  
"But I thought you were a Kokiri, Link. I didn't know you would grow up. I was going to give it to him...I didn't want them to hurt you...."  
  
And Link didn't care that Sheik and Navi were both watching; he started crying too. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry." Saria put her left hand through the bars and he took it, squeezing it gently. It was the only comfort they could give each other through the cold metal bars.  
  
After a long moment, she withdrew a dim yellow-orange light from her pocket. It was her fairy, Ellen. "She's been through as much as I have," Saria said. "Please don't let her die."  
  
Navi fluttered down to Link's hand, where Ellen lay. Wordlessly, she picked up the limp fairy and carried her over to the ladder where Sheik was.  
  
"Who's that?" Saria asked, finally spotting Sheik by the ladder. She wiped away her tears.  
  
"She helped me get down here. Her name is Sheik."  
  
"'She'? But I thought the person who killed the Wolfos was a guy. Sheik was the one who came to the forest one time, right?"  
  
Link nodded. "Well, yeah, but, I didn't mean to tell you she was a girl. She's pretending to be a guy. But, well, think about it. Blond girl trying to rescue the sages...who d'you think that is?"  
  
Saria's eyes widened. "That's Z—?"  
  
"Shh! Don't tell anyone. Especially not her."  
  
Saria nodded. "How did you get like this?" she whispered. "I thought you were a Kokiri."  
  
Link related what Navi had told him when he woke up in the Sacred Realm, being as brief as he could. He told her the story of his parents, how they had given their lives to save his.  
  
"But, that doesn't matter now," he said. "We have to get the medallion back so you can go to the Sacred Realm."  
  
"So I can what?"  
  
Link explained. "Someone told me that a sage can go to the Sacred Realm if they use the medallion's power. You have to get out of here. One sage is already in the Sacred Realm. He help you with these cuts...what did that phantom thing do to you, anyway?"  
  
Saria related her own story. They were now in semidarkness, since Navi had left, but Link could see Saria's eyes were bright. She spoke, her voice just above a whisper. She sounded as if she was holding back tears.  
  
"When he finally caught me, he started threatening me. Then he beat me. I still wouldn't give him the medallion pieces. But...after awhile," she choked on a sob, "he hurt the forest. And the people in it. I gave him two pieces, and showed him where the last one was. But then I realized, with the medallion, he could do more damage than he was already doing. I didn't give it to him. He beat me even worse and attacked the village with wolfos." Saria bit her lip. "You must have met Mido on the way here."  
  
Link nodded. "Has he really changed?" he asked quietly.  
  
Saria nodded. "He has. When you get back...tell him I said he's the new leader." She attempted a smile. "They put me in charge six months after you left. Mido was dethroned." She sighed. "I knew I was the sage. I kept feeling the temple calling me. But I had to protect the rest of them. Then when the castle was torn away, I couldn't resist any longer...."  
  
She started crying again. "I thought you were dead," she choked. "I thought you were dead. I was going to give it to him. He said he would kill you, make you suffer a slow death. I couldn't let him. But I thought you were dead. Oh, Link, I thought you were dead. I thought you were dead. I thought you had left me forever. I thought you were dead."  
  
All he could do was take her hand again and wait for her tears to stop. He had no energy left to stop his own.  
  
He didn't have to tell her he knew how she felt, that he had thought she was dead too.  
  
She knew.  
  
When they had both cried themselves out, Link wiped his eyes and called Sheik over.  
  
"Stay with her," he said, standing up. "See if you can tend to her cuts, and don't let her out of your sight. If something happens to her while you aren't looking, I'll murder you. I'm going to find that phantom."  
  
Sheik shook her head. "Link, you're crazy. You can't."  
  
"Watch me," he growled. "I'm getting the medallion so Saria can go to the Sacred Realm. She needs to be taken care of. Navi, do you want to stay here or come with me?"  
  
Navi took a long look at the glow in Sheik's hand. Ellen was a fairy, therefore she was Navi's sister. But Link couldn't go alone. "I'm coming with you," she said. "You're not going by yourself."  
  
Link nodded, and took a long look at Saria. "I'll be back," he promised. "Even if that thing kills me. I'll be back. Where is it?"  
  
Wordlessly, Saria pointed in the opposite direction with her good arm, towards the other side of the room. Link knelt again, squeezed her hand, turned around, and left. Navi followed him.  
  
"Good luck," Saria whispered. Then she let the tears overtake her once more.  
  
* * *  
  
Link pulled open the door to the room where Saria had said the phantom would be. Yes, he was going to get the medallion. But he was also going to get revenge.  
  
He was hot with anger at the thought of what the phantom had done to his friend. She had probably broken her arm, and maybe it had been worse at one point. A year of being tortured, and she wouldn't have ended it at all had she not been threatened with his own life.  
  
Link stalked up a spiral staircase, and found himself in a six-sided room, much like the main one. There was a giant life sized picture on each wall, and they were all of a path leading up a hill into a stormy night. Link thought there was something missing, though. It didn't look...right.  
  
"Does that look normal to you?" Navi asked, echoing his thoughts. Link shook his head, and examined each of the pictures in turn, as though determined to find something different with at least one of them. All of them being exactly the same was just too weird.  
  
Link reached the last picture and saw a pair of hooves on the path. He yelped and backed away, and noticed that a black horse was standing on there, pawing the ground. What was odd about it was that it was moving. Link turned around. There, on the picture opposite of the one with the horse, stood another horse, mimicking the first one's movements.  
  
All of the sudden, both horses ran at him from their pictures. Link didn't know how he knew, but he was certain they could get out of the frames. He ducked.  
  
He only saw one horse jump out of the frame, and, as if that wasn't incredible enough, the other horse turned and trotted back up the path. The first horse was now standing in the near one of the frames, still pawing the ground. Link noticed with unease that its eyes glowed red, and he backed against the opposite wall, as far away from the horse as he could get.  
  
"S-so that's the horse," Navi said shakily. "Where's the rider?"  
  
A horrible, mirthless laugh from behind them made Link jump about six inches in the air. Standing on the picture behind them was a look alike of Ganon himself. Except there were very noticeable differences. This Ganon had a long horn sticking out from his forehead, and his armor was a dark gray instead of black. His eyes were also glowing red. Still, it looked like Ganon enough to scare Link and Navi half to death.  
  
Phantom Ganon jumped out of his picture and landed on his horse. "Intruders...must die."  
  
"He can't even string two words together," Link muttered. "How intelligent."  
  
The horse reared, and leaped into the nearest painting. Link heard bars crash down somewhere in the distance and knew he was trapped.  
  
Link spun around. Two horses were approaching him from each side. "Which one do I hit?" he yelled in frustration.  
  
He decided he would just take a chance. Link drew out an arrow and aimed at the horse on his left, but it trotted back up into the picture, and the next thing he knew, Link had fallen face forward onto the hard floor, and there were two hoof shaped bruises on his back, throbbing painfully.  
  
Navi noticed something when the phantom attacked Link. It had gotten close to her, too. She had been in the air by that time, and had dodged, but the closer it got, the sicker she felt. And her white light had turned yellow by several shades.  
  
"Link, if I turn yellow, that's the one," she shouted.  
  
Two more horses raced at Link and Navi flew to one picture. She felt fine, and her white stayed white. Immediately, Link turned around and shot the horse behind him. The arrow landed on its leg. The horse tossed its head angrily and galloped back into the painting. They repeated this process until the horse gave a shriek of pain and disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Then the phantom got angry.  
  
"You...will die."  
  
He rose up into the air and tossed his cape angrily. A ball of electricity grew and swelled in his hands.  
  
"Uh-oh," Link muttered, helpless to do anything but stand and watch. Then he remembered....  
  
"I really don't think you're Link—but if you are, you can prove it."  
  
"Oh yeah? How?"  
  
"Just show me the Master Sword. After all, nothing evil can touch it...."  
  
The phantom launched the ball of lightning at him, and quick as a flash, Link drew out his sword and swung it in front of him. The ball of lightning bounced off of the sword and hit the phantom. The phantom cried out, and sank to the floor. He was really angry now.  
  
He drew out a pair of Gerudo swords, and Navi watched with baited breath. It was almost like seeing Samuel and Ganon battle to the death again, only this time it was Link and the phantom. She hoped the results of this battle would prove to be different from the one that happened seventeen years ago....  
  
The swords clashed for a long time. Link dodged, then swung, his opponent doing the same. Neither could land a satisfactory blow to the other.  
  
But then the phantom gained the upper hand. When Link ducked to avoid an attack, the phantom knocked him to the ground. Link's sword flew out of his hands.  
  
The world moved in slow motion. Link couldn't move. Everything was happening at a snail's pace, yet it was too fast for Link to move or think.  
  
No, he thought. No, I can't lose! What about Saria?  
  
His eyes widened as the phantom raised his Gerudo swords....  
  
He remembered his promise. "I'll be back. Even if that thing kills me."  
  
"I'm sorry," he murmured.  
  
"No!" Navi shouted.  
  
But the phantom did not stop. He rushed forward, ready to kill....  
  
* * *  
  
Saria had started crying when Link exited the room. Sheik felt like going with him, but Link had promised bodily harm if anything happened to his friend, so Sheik stayed where she was. She wasn't afraid of Link, she doubted he would actually kill her, but he didn't want anything to happen to the girl.  
  
So Sheik had waited for Saria to stop crying, then tended to her wounds as Link had asked her to. In her opinion, Saria was being pretty brave. Sheik could tell how much the cuts stung, and she felt a pang of anger at the phantom for hurting an innocent child.  
  
"Can you move your arm?" Sheik asked.  
  
Slowly, Saria shook her head. "I think it's broken," she whispered. "But I'll try." She bit her lip, and tried to maneuver her arm through the bars of the cage without actually moving it. The first time her arm bumped the cage, she cringed and bit down harder on her lip. The second time, she cried out, and felt a tear slip down her cheek.  
  
"I can't," she gasped. "I'm sorry."  
  
"It's okay," Sheik said. She really wanted to use magic to heal the wounds, so that it would be less painful, but she had already risked exposure too many times. She had done a little on Saria's fairy, so that the light wouldn't go out, but she couldn't risk it again unless the alternative was worse than Ganon finding out who she was.  
  
They were quiet for a minute, both staring off into space. After a minute, Saria said quietly, "Do you think Link will be okay?"  
  
Sheik couldn't lie to her. "I don't know for sure. But I think he will be. When we were fighting all the monsters upstairs, he didn't even get tired. He didn't ask for a break or anything. He really wanted to find you. He was worried. Whatever drive he had, he still has it now. I'm telling you, he's madder at that phantom than he shows. I don't think he'll lose. I'm not saying he won't, but I don't think he will."  
  
They were quiet again, then Saria asked, "What about the other sages? How many are in the Sacred Realm now?"  
  
"Just one, I think."  
  
A few more minutes passed, then Saria began to pace around the dark cell. "Something's wrong."  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Something's wrong," Saria repeated. "I don't know what it is, or how I know it, I just know something's wrong. Really, really wrong."  
  
A feeling of dread passed over Sheik. What if the something that was wrong had to do with Link? If he lost, the phantom might come down here. Sheik didn't think she could handle that thing on her own. And if she died, she didn't know what would happen to the Triforce. Worries and fears raced through her mind, but she held her mask steady. The world would not know anything was wrong.  
  
And she couldn't let Saria worry.  
  
Suddenly, the door on the other side banged open.  
  
"That stupid jackass just had to go and hit my shield arm."  
  
"Watch your mouth!"  
  
Sheik felt weak with relief. Link was okay. He was alive.  
  
"Did you get the medallion?" she called, standing up. Saria stood up too.  
  
"I got it all right. I swear, the next time somebody hits this arm it's going to fall off."  
  
Link walked into the light of the torches by the ladder, and then disappeared again on his way to the cage. Navi's light seemed much weaker than usual, and Sheik could barely see her.  
  
"Goddesses, this hurts. I hope he didn't cut it off."  
  
"Let me see it," Sheik said.  
  
"Are you sure? It's not pretty."  
  
"Link, for pity's sake, let her see!" Saria said. "If it's hurt you ought to get it fixed."  
  
Sheik turned around to Saria, raised an eyebrow, then back to Link. "'Her'? You snitch!"  
  
Link frowned. "I am not. It slipped out."  
  
"Are you okay, Navi?" Saria asked, ignoring them. She was used to hearing Link bicker with everyone. He always had with her.  
  
"Fine," she said, a bit unsteady. "But Link had me scared for a minute. I almost had a heart attack."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
While Sheik tried to bandage Link's arm, which had a very deep cut across it, Navi told what had happened during the battle.  
  
"...and then he knocked Link's sword out of his hand. I really thought it over, but Link rolled out of the way before the phantom could stab him. The sword got his arm, though."  
  
Link didn't let on how scared he had been. The truth was, he had actually had something of a "seeing the life flash before your eyes" experience. He had remembered his entire life in half a second, and then he had thought of Saria again, and what would be lost if the Hero of Time died...that thought had forced his body into motion, but he hadn't been a second too late.  
  
Instead of voicing this, however, he said, "It was cake from there. I just had to get to my sword. Couple of hits and he disappeared into a little puff of smoke." Link scowled. "Serves him right. This arm's taken enough damage. I wish I had thought to get my shield ready."  
  
"I can fix your arm," Saria said. "I can probably fix mine too, if you'll give me the medallion."  
  
"Uh, my arm is a bit occupied at the moment. Sheik, get offa me, it's gonna bleed even if you wrap it up." Link winced. The truth was, he wanted her to stop messing with his arm because it felt like it was on fire.  
  
Navi rolled her eyes and dived into Link's pocket to retrieve the medallion, and Sheik stopped bandaging Link's arm so she could see the medallion being restored.  
  
Navi flew back out of Link's pocket, carrying the two pieces of the medallion. "Here," she said, giving them to Saria.  
  
With her good arm, Saria took the other piece out of her own pocket and laid them all on the floor. Then she pushed them together.  
  
There was a blinding flash of green light, and then the medallion lay whole on the floor in front of them.  
  
"Finally," Saria sighed. "I can't see in here, though." She paused, then a smile flickered on her tired face. "I imagine there's plenty of light in the Sacred Realm, though. Anybody want to come with me?"  
  
They all responded enthusiastically, except for Ellen, who was still unconscious.  
  
"Hold on, then," Saria said. Link took her broken arm in his hands so she could use her other arm, Navi landed on Link's shoulder, and Sheik put her hand on Link's good arm.  
  
"Ready?" she asked. They all nodded.  
  
"Go!"  
  
There was a flash of green light again, then it turned white. Link felt like he was soaring through the air at an incredible speed. He could look neither right or left, in fact, he couldn't move at all.  
  
In a few seconds, he felt an impact under his feet, and the light slowly turned blue, and died away. He was back in the Sacred Realm, standing in the center of the large pillar he had stood on during his last visit.  
  
"Welcome, Forest Sage," said a voice from behind them.  
  
Link turned. "Rauru."  
  
Saria had fallen to the floor. He helped her too her feet with his good arm, then said, "Hold the speech for a second, would you? Her arm's broken."  
  
Rauru raised an eyebrow, but nodded. Saria grasped the medallion tightly, and muttered, "Heal."  
  
There was another green flash, and her cuts and bruises were gone. She flexed her arm. Then she smiled. "I didn't know if that would work or not. Here, Link, let me do yours."  
  
Link unwrapped the now red bandages from his arm, and Saria saw the wound for the first time. It was still bleeding freely. It hurt a lot, too. Link wondered if he would have preferred for the phantom to just cut the arm off. Then, at least, it wouldn't feel like a hundred hot needles were sticking through it.  
  
"Ohmygoddesses," Saria said when she saw it. "He nearly cut your arm off!" She touched the wound gently with the medallion, then muttered, "Heal."  
  
Link felt the pain vanish. He let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding. "I swear that felt like it was on fire. You need any healing, Sheik?"  
  
She shook her head. "I'm fine. Saria, you'd better heal your fairy," Sheik said, taking Ellen out of her pocket.  
  
"Oh!" Saria said. She picked up the fairy and placed her on the medallion. "Heal."  
  
The fairy's light slowly grew until it was as healthy looking as Navi's, which had returned to full strength, now that she was no longer afraid of watching Link die.  
  
"Saria?" Ellen mumbled. "Who are all these—?"  
  
"Shh, Ellen, just rest. We're okay. The phantom's gone. Gone! Link got rid of him for us."  
  
"Link?" the fairy asked, looking around. "Where is he? And how did he find us?"  
  
"I'm Link—don't look at me like that, I am—and it's a really long story."  
  
"One I would like to hear," Rauru said, speaking at last. He looked at Sheik carefully. "Lad, what's your name?"  
  
"Who, me?" Sheik asked, and Link noticed she deepened her voice a little. "I'm Sheik."  
  
"Ah. May I ask where you're from?"  
  
"No, you may not. Mind your own business."  
  
Rauru raised his eyebrow again. "Link, have you located Zelda yet?"  
  
Link shrugged. "Zelda who? Like, the princess?"  
  
"Yes, the princess," Rauru said patiently.  
  
"Nope. Can't find her anywhere." Link then made a big show of looking around, as if checking to see if Zelda was hiding behind him. Saria giggled.  
  
Just then, there was a bright flash, and Sheik seemed to flicker.  
  
"Damn you," she snarled, shooting a glare at Rauru. There was another flash, and then she turned into Zelda.  
  
"You did that! If you knew who I was, why didn't you just say so?" she asked angrily, shooting him another death glare.  
  
Most people would have withered under a glare like that; Rauru just chuckled.  
  
"I don't find it amusing. At all."  
  
"Link, are you going to tell me what's been happening since I last you or not?" Rauru said.  
  
"Yeah," Ellen whined, taking to the air. "I wanna know too."  
  
Navi flew over to Ellen. "You okay?"  
  
"Yes," said Ellen, and she and Navi hugged.  
  
Zelda took a deep breath, and started talking. She told of what had happened to the three of them since Link had awakened in the Temple of Time. When she got to the place about teaching the Kokiri children to fight, Saria was delighted.  
  
"That's wonderful! The forest won't ever be unprotected again!"  
  
Navi then picked up where Zelda left off, telling about the way they had journeyed through the woods and met up with Mido and the moblin.  
  
"And then, right as that thing was about to throw Link down the stairs, the cloaked guy killed it."  
  
Link scowled. "I want to know why he's stalking us. It's not fair that I never get any privacy."  
  
Navi was grateful he couldn't see her grinning through the light. It was true; Link had hardly ever had a moment in his life when he wasn't being watched. Silently, she resolved to try to be less protective of him.  
  
"Anyway," she said, "He played a song that warped him to the meadow and then he gave Link his old shield and a hookshot. And then he left."  
  
"Perhaps he is a messenger," Rauru said thoughtfully.  
  
"Excuse me?" Zelda asked.  
  
"You said he taught you the Minuet of Forest, didn't you?"  
  
"The what?" said Link.  
  
"That song is called the Minuet," said Saria. "But why does that make him a messenger?"  
  
"There are six songs to warp to each of the six temples. Zelda knows the Prelude of Light, as do I. Your friend Saria knows the Minuet of Forest. I imagine the other sages would know the melodies that take them to their own temples. This man probably does not know what he is doing, but he's following you around, teaching you melodies. That makes him a messenger of the sages. He may play a vital role in the undoing of Ganon."  
  
Link stared at him. "You're nuts."  
  
Rauru sighed. "Believe what you will. It's only a theory." Then apologetically, he added, "You cannot stay here much longer. The medallion was only meant to transport the sage."  
  
"But...." Link looked down at Saria.  
  
"She will stay here until it is time to battle the King of Evil."  
  
But I just found her again, Link thought. Why do I have to lose her so soon?  
  
Saria started crying again. "I don't want to say goodbye so soon," she whispered, echoing his thoughts.  
  
Link knelt down. "It's not goodbye. I promise. No matter what happens, I'll find a way to get back to you."  
  
Saria hugged him tightly. "Do you promise? Really?"  
  
Link nodded. "Yes," he said, his voice thick. "Seven years can change a lot of things. But I'll never leave you. If you need me, I'll find you. Always. A hundred years won't change that."  
  
They hugged a long time, until Saria's tears had stopped, then a flash of green light forced them to part.  
  
Link stood up. "Where are we going to end up at?"  
  
"Next to the cage, where we were," Saria said.  
  
Another flash of green light. Saria took a step toward him, then forced something into his hand. Her ocarina, the one she had made for herself.  
  
"Saria...."  
  
"Keep it," she said. "From me. Don't forget, you promised," she said, and the green light flashed again.  
  
Link put it in his pocket and took something else out. His own Fairy Ocarina. He held it out and she took it. "You'll need something to play, if you're giving me yours. When all this is over, we'll trade back, okay?"  
  
She nodded, and started crying again.  
  
The light flashed once more, and when it died down, Link found himself standing with Navi, and Sheik, who had reactivated her disguise, beside the cage where Saria had been kept.  
  
"I'll never forgive Ganondorf," Link said quietly. "He's the one who told his phantom to beat her and keep her locked up."  
  
Sheik put a hand on his shoulder. "We can make him pay. We'll get there. The Goddesses won't let a man like that go unpunished."  
  
Link took a deep breath and stared at the ceiling for a moment. Then he walked over to the ladder, shrugging her away. "Coming?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Link shoved up on the trapdoor. It didn't budge. He pushed harder. No luck.  
  
"Damn it!" he cursed. "It's stuck."  
  
"Let me try." Sheik rattled the ladder in an attempt to get him down.  
  
"It's not going anywhere."  
  
"Just move!"  
  
Link got down from the ladder, and he watched as Sheik climbed up, tried to move the door, failed, and climbed back down.  
  
"It's stuck."  
  
"I could have told you that."  
  
Sheik glared at him. Navi, however, said, "How are we going to get out? This room only has one entrance and one exit and that's it."  
  
Sheik grinned, but all they could see were her eyes, which were twinkling. "That cloaked guy taught us the song for a reason."  
  
"He didn't exactly teach it to us, but we're lucky I knew it already. Do you have an instrument?"  
  
"Yeah." Sheik took out a small harp in the shape of a semicircle. Link hadn't noticed it on her back before, but it hung there, in the place that his shield did on his own back.  
  
She laughed at the expression on his face. "Traditional Shekiah harp. It used to have a case, but I left it in Star's saddlebag."  
  
"What's it have a case for?"  
  
"I can use it as a shield. I have my claws for weapons. The case isn't traditional, though. I had to figure that one out on my own."  
  
"When are we leaving?" Navi complained. "I don't like it here."  
  
Link perked up. "Oh, right. Here, I'll hum it till you get it right and then I'll go. Okay?"  
  
Sheik nodded. It didn't take Link as long as she thought it would. She got it right after four or five times. She wasn't so bad with that Shekiah harp.  
  
In a flash of green light, Sheik was gone.  
  
"Our turn," said Navi. She landed gently on Link's shoulder. He took out the Ocarina of time, trying not to notice his fingers brushing past the ocarina Saria had given him. He played the song perfectly on the first try. He saw a green flash, and then he was standing in the meadow.  
  
"That didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would," said a voice from atop the tree guarding the door.  
  
"Why'm I not surprised?" Link muttered, then he turned around. Sheik did too. It was, of course, the cloaked man, standing on top of the dead tree. He jumped down and landed without a sound.  
  
"Did you rescue the Forest Sage? Is she safe?" he asked.  
  
"Course she is," said Link.  
  
"That leaves four to go, then. You still have to get the powers of the sages that guard the Fire, Water, Shadow, and Spirit Temples. You need to hurry. We all want to see Ganon imprisoned."  
  
Link's mouth fell open. "How did you know that? That plan...was supposed to be a secret."  
  
The man laughed softly. "You'll find many things have changed in seven years. The children in the forest didn't tell you, I suppose. They don't see much of the outside world. I guess they didn't know. But I'll let you wait and see. The first time you go to Kakariko, you'll find out."  
  
"Hey, I have to ask you something before you disappear again," Link said.  
  
"I probably won't answer you, but go ahead."  
  
"Why are you stalking us?" Sheik asked. "I know that's what he was going to ask you."  
  
The man didn't say anything. Link had the distinct impression he was amused at something.  
  
"You'll find out sooner or later," the man said lazily.  
  
Link frowned. "Right. Where's Johan?"  
  
"You know I'm not going to tell you that."  
  
"Why?" Link demanded.  
  
"I'm not going to tell you that either."  
  
"What are you going to tell us?" Sheik exploded.  
  
"Yeah," chimed Navi. "You're not playing fair."  
  
"No one said I had to play fair...but I'll tell you this," the man said. "We'll meet again."  
  
The man threw something on the ground and there was a blinding flash. Link covered his eyes. When the light died down, the man was gone.  
  
"Stupid stalker. I bet those were Deku Nuts," Link muttered.  
  
"What did he mean, though?" Sheik asked. "The first time we go into Kakariko...well, if he meant we're both going to be chased by the nearest Gerudo, I knew that already."  
  
"Yeah, that was weird," Navi said.  
  
"I hope he doesn't mean everyone knows about the plan. Ganon will have an easy advantage," Link worried.  
  
They set off toward the forest. Link's mind was still preoccupied with thoughts of Saria, even though he tried not to let it show. Navi was busy worrying about the cloaked man and the meaning of what he said. She had a faint idea, but she hoped she was wrong.  
  
Sheik was oddly quiet, and when Link asked her about it, she said, "Don't you think if that man was the Messenger of the Sages Ganon would be after him too?"  
  
Link frowned. "Yeah, good point."  
  
"That's probably why he disguises himself. Ganon probably knew his real identity, but he hid...y'know, like Zelda did," Sheik said carefully.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
It was a while before they got back to the village. Link knew it wasn't over yet, and he still had to appoint Mido, one of his least favorite people in the world, leader.  
  
When they got to the cliff overlooking the village, the children all ran up to the vine-covered wall.  
  
"It's Link and Sheik!"  
  
"And Navi!"  
  
"They're back!"  
  
"Did you bring Saria?"  
  
The trio climbed down the vines slowly, trying not to squash any kids. When the Kokiri saw that Saria was not there, a hush fell over them. Link saw Mido standing at the back of the crowd, but Mido didn't say anything to him, and he didn't say anything to Mido. Link moved forward a little, away from the wall, and the kids parted to let him through. They now formed a circle around him. Sheik and Navi stayed by the wall.  
  
"Where's Saria?" asked Jatrin.  
  
Link looked around at them. "She's going to fight Ganon with me and Sheik and Navi. She can't come back until he's gone."  
  
Link took a deep breath, and simplified the story of the sages. He explained that Saria was a sage, and since she was one, she had to stay at the Sacred Realm until Ganon was gone. He told them that they were trying their best to destroy Ganon and bring her back, but it might take awhile.  
  
"She told me to appoint a new leader." Link got out the bag he had grabbed earlier and took out the Kokiri Sword, his slingshot, and his Deku Shield, which had all had his name carved into them.  
  
"C'mere, Mido."  
  
Hesitantly, almost defiantly, Mido stepped forward. "Yeah?"  
  
"Saria said you're in charge until she gets back." Link hesitated, then said, "I want you to keep these until she gets back, then give them to her. They stay with whoever the leader is. Got that?" he said to all the kids. They nodded.  
  
"Beat it, you guys. I have to talk to the spies before they leave," said Mido. Apparently the Kokiri kids had filled him in on Link's story about being a spy pretending to work for Ganon.  
  
The children protested to leaving, but gave up in the end.  
  
"Okay," said Mido crossly, "Who the hell are you?"  
  
Sheik, from her place against the wall, looked surprised at his language, but Link hadn't forgotten that it was Mido that indirectly taught him to cuss.  
  
"I told you, you idiot," Link said, enjoying the feeling of being able to insult Mido without getting hit, "I'm a spy."  
  
"I don't believe you," Mido sneered.  
  
"Too bad," Link growled at him. It felt so good not to be at a disadvantage because of size. He just wanted to get away from Mido, who was part of a painful past Link no longer wanted to remember. But then Mido surprised him with a show of intelligence Link didn't know he had.  
  
"You're him, aren't you?"  
  
"Who?" Link asked, his pulse quickening.  
  
He didn't know why he wanted to keep his identity a secret from Mido. Maybe it was the old fear of being bullied, something he didn't have to worry about anymore. Or maybe it was the fact that he wanted to forget all this, and didn't want anyone to be able to find him. Maybe it was the fact that secrets should be shared with friends, trusted ones, and not enemies. Whatever the case, he just didn't want Mido to know.  
  
"Link."  
  
That one caught Link off guard. He had never heard Mido refer to him as anything but Mr. No Fairy.  
  
"That's my code name," Link lied.  
  
"No it's not," said Mido. "Where else would you have gotten this sword?"  
  
Link was quiet for a minute.  
  
"Fine," he snapped suddenly, "I'm the stupid little kid you picked on seven years ago, the one who supposedly killed the Deku Tree, and the one you kicked out. Happy now?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Well, you should be," Link spat. "Unless you're upset at your luck of meeting someone bigger than you are."  
  
"All she did after you left was cry. It got even worse when Ganon took over. Two years the forest kept getting attacked. I guess she used her powers to try and hold it off. It didn't work. She disappeared one day. I didn't know if she was coming back or not."  
  
Link didn't ask who he meant by she.  
  
"She really hated me for awhile. But I killed a wolfos that attacked Jatrin one day and she sort of forgave me, for some things. We never said we were friends, but we were, because she taught me that song. All she ever talked about was you. When you were here, she spent all her time with you, and when you were gone, she spent all her time talking about you. It's enough to make anyone jealous."  
  
Link couldn't believe his ears. Mido was jealous...of him?  
  
"But just because someone's jealous doesn't mean they should make other people miserable. Sure, I was bigger than you, and you didn't have a fairy, but that wasn't your fault. Saria liking you better than she liked me wasn't your fault. But I made you miserable anyway, didn't I?"  
  
Link had never seen Mido act like this before. Except for their meeting in the Lost Woods, the only words Mido had ever spoken to him were in a cold sneer.  
  
Link stayed quiet a long time before answering. "If I was your size and you were mine, I wouldn't be reminding me of that. I have a bigger sword and a bigger fist than you do," Link said bitterly, his voice stating very clearly what he would like to do with his sword at the moment.  
  
"I don't know how or why you grew up if you're a Kokiri, or if you were a Kokiri at all. And I'll never admit it to anyone, but I'm sorry."  
  
It took a second for Link to register what Mido said. "You're—what?"  
  
"I'm sorry I made your life living hell, okay?"  
  
"O-okay."  
  
But something else was on Link's mind. It was important for Mido to know....  
  
"You know I didn't kill the Deku Tree, right?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Well, I didn't," Link snapped. "If I hadn't got there when I did...."  
  
"...none of this would have ever happened."  
  
Link glared at him. "I wouldn't have gotten the Spiritual Stone. And I wouldn't be able to put Ganon in his place."  
  
"No one says you can now," Mido sneered.  
  
"I'll be sure to invite you to the party when we celebrate," Link said sarcastically. "I'm leaving. You guys coming?" he asked, turning to his friends.  
  
"Yeah," said Navi.  
  
Link walked away from Mido without another word. Mido glared after Link spitefully, but after Link was gone, he sighed heavily.  
  
Link was lost in thought. Too much had been happening lately. His emotions were an unstoppable whirlwind. Happiness, sadness, anger, and shock all blended smoothly into a jumbling mass of confusion, as did his thoughts, so he didn't know where one thing stopped and another ended. What was worse, the confusion kept turning into frustration, something he couldn't win against. For the first time, he felt physically tired from battling his own thoughts and feelings.  
  
Navi stayed out of his thoughts, but she couldn't help sensing how upset and frustrated he was. She knew the best thing to do for him would be to get him back to Lon Lon Ranch, where he could distract himself and keep his pride at the same time. Somehow, she couldn't banish the image of the two of them clinging to each other through cold metal bars, crying.  
  
Sheik almost wished she hadn't followed him. She knew now why he wanted to go by himself. All this would have been hard enough to face without a stranger coming along. The only useful things she had done thus far was save him from a wolfos and enchanted his arrows. Well, she had stayed with Saria, too. Still, at least it made him seem human. Sometimes, when he was fighting, he did it with such speed and skill she wondered if he could possibly be real.  
  
"Hey, look, the sky isn't so dark anymore," Link said, looking up above him. Then he looked out at the sky above the ranch. It was clear of all clouds. "Check that out, it's daytime at the ranch, too."  
  
"Hm?" Sheik looked at the ranch. "Great! I guess this means when we banish evil the clouds go away."  
  
"Turn away, vile clouds! Leave the peaceful people be!"  
  
Sheik couldn't help laughing. "Link, you really are nuts."  
  
He attempted a smile. "Thanks?" He mounted Epona, talking softly to her.  
  
"Uh-oh," Sheik muttered, interrupting. "Hey, Link, we spent the night in the forest and left our horses!"  
  
"What?" Link yelped, causing Navi to fly off his shoulder. "Damn, we'd better get them some water."  
  
"Watch it," Navi grumbled, referring to both his language and his movements.  
  
"Oh, sorry, Navi."  
  
Link rode Epona over to a little stream, then dismounted her. Sheik followed on Star.  
  
"I feel bad about that. Next time, we're not tying them up, then they can find their own food and water," Sheik said. "They're smart horses, they'll wait on us."  
  
They all stood by the river chatting while the horses drank some water. Sheik had also noticed Link being a little depressed, even though he was cracking jokes.  
  
"Hey, what's that, Link?" Sheik pointed to a distant point in the sky.  
  
"What's what?" Navi asked. Link looked up to where Sheik was pointing.  
  
Then she pushed him in the stream.  
  
It was weird for the first second. She hadn't played a prank like that since she was ten years old. But after a moment, she started laughing. Maybe this wouldn't cheer him up, it might get his mind off of things.  
  
Link came up, soaking wet and coughing. "Not funny," he gasped, glaring at her. "Help me out of here, would you?"  
  
Sheik extended her hand and tried to pull him out, but the Link tightened his grip and pulled her in with him. He went a step further by pushing her all the way down into the water so the she was completely drenched. They endured a splash fest for about ten minutes, with Navi flying around to avoid getting wet and squealing, then Link jumped out and got on Epona, still soaked.  
  
"Race you back to the ranch!" he shouted over his shoulder and took off.  
  
Okay, maybe it had cheered him up. Sheik got out of the water, furious that he'd gotten her back, and mounted Star. "You just wait until I get my hands on you," she yelled, and went flying off after him.  
  
Navi watched them ride into the distance for a moment, then went after them.  
  
It was, after all, her job to make sure they didn't hurt each other.  
  
AN: See, told you it was angsty. Except the end. *laughs at Sheik* Fool! You cannot defeat Link! Yeah. Speaking of Sheik, more than one person said she doesn't act like she does in the game. Of curse not, sillies! I'm putting her character into the cloaked dude and giving her a NEW character, cause the way she acted in the game didn't suit her, IMO. Anyway, I have a computer! Yay! And I'll have a chap out soon because Word isn't deleting my documents! Yay again! (Think about me having to write some of the longer chaps more than once. That was SO annoying. *kicks old computer*) Bye pplz! 


	18. Chapter TwentyTwo: To Kakariko Village

Author's Note: Twenty-Two chaps. Wow. That's like a lot. My long winded- ness dun bother y'all does it?  
  
Chapter Twenty-Two: To Kakariko Village  
  
When Sheik got back to the ranch, followed by Navi, Link was already in the barn, brushing Epona. He pretended not to see her when she led Star in, but he couldn't stop a grin from passing over his face the minute she turned her back. It was almost noon now, and he was tired, but it amusing all the same.  
  
"That wasn't funny," Sheik said, glaring at him. Navi started giggling.  
  
"You started it." Link finished brushing Epona and put the brush back on the wall. Sheik started brushing Star, and Link looked around the barn at the cows. At one point, one mooed loudly at him and he jumped, muttering darkly under his breath. Sheik cracked up.  
  
"I'm going to take a nap," Sheik said when she had finished laughing. She put Star's brush on the wall.  
  
Link stretched and yawned. "Not a bad idea." He was still tired from the battles of the day, mentally and physically.  
  
Navi yawned too. "Yeah...."  
  
They went back in the house. Malon, who was in the kitchen washing dishes, stared at them. "You're not telling me it's raining, are you?"  
  
"Sheik pushed me in the creek and I got revenge," Link said with a straight face.  
  
Malon gave them a look that said she was worried about their sanity, then said, "I hope you're not hungry, the cuccos went crazy when we tried to collect the eggs this morning."  
  
"I'm sleeping until supper," Link said, yawning again. "You don't mind, do you?"  
  
"Nah."  
  
"Good."  
  
Link trudged upstairs and changed into some dry clothes, then flopped down onto his bed. He fell asleep almost immediately.  
  
* * *  
  
Navi was still asleep when he woke up, and supper had come and gone, but Malon had saved him some. When he was done eating, he asked, "D'you know where Sheik is?"  
  
"Oh, she's probably on the roof," Talon said. He had come downstairs when Link woke up. "She loves the view."  
  
"The roof?"  
  
"Oh, you never saw our roof, did you?" Malon said happily.  
  
"Uh, no."  
  
"I'll show you." Malon grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the barn with the cows. "There's a place on the loft where you can go to the roof of the barn. It's flat, you won't have any trouble walking. There's one on top of the house, too."  
  
"Do cows bite?" Link asked as she pulled the ladder down.  
  
Malon laughed. "Not often."  
  
"They're gonna bite my fingers off one day," Link said darkly, shooting a glare at the nearest cow. It chewed on some grass lazily, returning his gaze. "Don't they freak you out when they stare at you?"  
  
"No," Malon said, giggling.  
  
"It's not funny. They're going to eat you while you're asleep one day and no one will ever know how you died."  
  
They climbed up the ladder into the hayloft, which was full of straw and grass. It made a comfortable relaxing place. Then Malon pulled down another ladder that lead to the roof of the barn.  
  
Sure enough, there was Sheik, leaning on a handrail, looking at Hyrule Field.  
  
"Hey," she said when she saw them.  
  
"Link's afraid of cows," Malon said, giggling again.  
  
Sheik started laughing. "They're not going to hurt you."  
  
"Women," Link muttered. "Shutup, you two."  
  
They teased Link a little while, then Malon, who hadn't slept all day as they had, said she was going to bed.  
  
"G'night," Link called after her as she disappeared back into the barn. Then he said to Sheik, "Excellent view. But I bet I could see it better if I stood over here." He climbed onto the handrail and tried to balance himself.  
  
"You idiot, get down from there," she said.  
  
Link noticed she was looking at the foreboding black tower that stood in Hyrule Castle's place.  
  
"Don't look that way," Link said quietly, jumping down from the rail. "The view's better when you're looking at the field from the other side of the house."  
  
Sheik sighed. "I can't help it."  
  
"Sure you can." Link grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away from the railing. But she didn't take her eyes off of the tower.  
  
"That thing is terrible. It drains hope out everybody who sees it. Everyone keeps thinking that no one, nothing, could defeat something that powerful. And sometimes I think that too." Sheik couldn't repress a shudder. "His eyes...are so cold. When he kills people. It's horrible." She walked back to the railing. "I hate that thing."  
  
"We'll get rid of it. Like the cloaked guy said, two down, four to go. We'll get there one day." He pulled a face. "Besides, he has terrible taste. Black, black, black. I wonder how much he paid the decorator."  
  
Sheik laughed a little. "You're always cracking jokes, even when things get like this. How do you pull that off?"  
  
"I need to laugh. If I don't laugh, I'll cry. I guess it's a defense thing."  
  
"Let's get this straight. The worse off you get, the more jokes you crack?"  
  
"That'd be correct."  
  
She sighed again. "I should probably practice something like that. The only good thing I've been able to come up with since that tower was put up was that...that my father didn't live to see it. I hope he can't see it now, wherever he is."  
  
"What happened?" Link asked quietly.  
  
Sheik tore her eyes away from the tower and stared upward. "You don't want to know."  
  
"Yeah, I do. You've never talked about it to anyone, have you?"  
  
"To Impa...but we always both ended up crying."  
  
"It was that bad?" Link asked quietly. Ganon had murdered so many innocent people...not caring how they were killed or who saw it. Link had no idea the kind of thing he could have put a ten year old girl through.  
  
"It was worse. My dad and I had been fighting nonstop about Ganondorf, and I was going crazy. I was going to go downstairs and make up with him...I was so tired of not being able to be around him anymore." She swallowed hard. "I never got to tell him I was sorry. My door banged open...and at first I thought it was Impa...but it was him. I knew because I felt the cold running up and down my arms."  
  
"I guess he wanted the Ocarina of Time, and of course he knew I was going to get a Triforce piece. He had two Gerudo with him. He said he was going to have to kill me to get what he wanted. I kept screaming for help. I didn't know what to do. Everything was cold...it was cold, and I couldn't think straight. The women started toward me...then my father was standing at the doorway. He told Ganondorf to call the guards off."  
  
"Of course, Ganondorf didn't call the guards off, and my father fought them. There was blood everywhere. I could hear them screaming. And their eyes were still open after he killed them...."  
  
Sheik sounded close to tears, but Link didn't know what to do.  
  
She swallowed again. "Ganondorf got mad. He and my father fought. They went at it for a long time. But my father was old...he slipped up, I guess...and Ganondorf stabbed him. I saw the sword go all the way through. He said...he told me to run...and that he was sorry...and that he loved me. And his eyes closed and they didn't open again. And I was just standing there crying, and Impa heard the noise, or maybe it was because the castle was already being attacked...she found me, and saw what had happened...she got me out of there and onto Star and we rode away. There was fighting on the way out. I saw it...Gerudo and Hylians. But sometimes there was so much blood on a person you couldn't tell which. Everything was burning, even people. It was all red. The smell made me sick."  
  
A sob rose in Sheik's throat, and she held it back, but she couldn't hold back the tear that slipped down her cheek.  
  
"Two days later we went back to the Market and everything was still red, and all the bodies had been piled up in a corner of the square except his. My father's body was lying in the middle of the square so everyone could see. Ganondorf had cut him apart piece by piece. I hardly recognized him. Impa tried to get me away before I saw but she wasn't fast enough. I'll never forget that, ever. Sometimes I still dream about it, and even when I don't I keep remembering the cold. The way he looked at me made me sick because I felt so cold."  
  
Sheik closed her eyes, but two cold tears fell down her face anyway, dampening the cloth of her mask.  
  
"I'm...sorry...."  
  
Sheik just shook her head.  
  
"If it makes you feel any better...he—he killed my father too. And he destroyed my home. So you're not alone."  
  
"He killed your dad?"  
  
"I...yeah. My parents were running away from the battle, seventeen years ago...Ganon stabbed my father and shot my mother with a poison arrow. She just made it to the forest in time to get me to the Deku Tree. And you saw what happened to the forest...." He laughed a little. "All my life people have thought I was dead. First when I came out of the forest, and now they think I died seven years ago in the attack. I guess it gives me an advantage, though, in case tall dark and ugly is looking for me."  
  
"He's looking for you all right. You've got a price on your head." Her eyes, still bright from the tears that had fallen earlier, had amusement in them. "But then again, that's something else we have on common."  
  
"You have a price on your head?"  
  
"Yeah, and so does Zelda. All three of us are worth five thousand rupees, dead or alive."  
  
"You're kidding!"  
  
"I wish."  
  
They were quiet for a very long time, each lost in thought. After awhile, Sheik said she was going to bed. Link followed her down to the house, as he was tired too.  
  
When he got to his room, Navi jerked awake and fussed at him for not waking her up sooner.  
  
"Not my fault," Link said quietly his mind still on what Sheik had told him.  
  
"Something the matter, the Link?"  
  
"No...yes. I don't really know. I guess I just have too much on my mind. Less than a week ago I woke up as an adult and found the world like it is, I found Saria and lost her again...and Ganon's ruined so many things." He was reluctant to repeat Sheik's story. After all, she had confided in him, in a way.  
  
"I know he has."  
  
Link thought about when he had woken up in the Sacred Realm. He had felt angry, but he didn't know who he felt angry toward. Now he did. Ganon had killed his father, indirectly killed his mother, killed Sheik's father, caused Saria to be locked away and beaten, and a ton of other things he didn't know about yet.  
  
Link sighed and flopped onto the bed. "Night, Navi."  
  
"Night."  
  
Goodnight, Saria, Link thought, and he could just picture Saria in the Sacred Realm, thinking the same thing to him.  
  
* * *  
  
The next morning, Link woke up before any of them. He decided to let Navi sleep, even though he knew he would get fussed at. He went into the barn, avoided the cows, and greeted Epona. Then he got out his new quiver, and tried to practice his aim out at the corral. He was surprised when he hit every mark he had set for himself.  
  
As Link was pulling arrows out of various places of the ranch, Malon called him for breakfast. Link put away his arrows and went inside.  
  
"What were you doing?" Malon asked from the stove.  
  
"Shooting things. Don't worry, they weren't cows or anything," he added hastily, seeing the look on her face.  
  
"If they were cows, you'd be hiding someplace."  
  
"Shut up."  
  
She giggled. "They're cute cows, honest. They won't hurt you."  
  
"I said shut up," Link said grouchily. "Stupid cows."  
  
Malon was still laughing when Sheik came downstairs. "What's so funny?" she asked Malon.  
  
"I've never met someone who didn't like cows," Malon giggled.  
  
"I am not scared of cows!"  
  
Sheik just raised an eyebrow in what Link now knew was a classic trait of hers.  
  
"What's for breakfast?" Sheik said with a yawn.  
  
"Eggs, like always. Didn't you get any sleep?"  
  
"Tons of it," she replied, just suppressing another yawn. Link was guessing that she hadn't, but he didn't say anything until Talon had come downstairs and breakfast was on the table.  
  
"So, where we going today?" he asked Sheik cheerfully.  
  
"Today? We just got finished with one temple and you want to go off again?"  
  
"Yeah! The quicker the better, right? Besides, I want to go to Kakariko."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well, if everyone knows what we're doing, that's bad. But I want to see what that guy was talking about."  
  
"Well, the Fire Temple and the Shadow Temple are in Kakariko. But the Shadow Temple is nickname the House of the Dead by the Shekiahs."  
  
"That sounds fun. The Fire Temple, then?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"I'll hafta go wake up Navi. Will you guys save me some?"  
  
"Link," Sheik protested, "You've already eaten half of it."  
  
"Oh, hush," Malon said. "We'll save him a little. Go on and wake up Navi, Link."  
  
Link sprinted up the stairs to find Navi still asleep. He poked her until she woke up, got scolded at, and went back downstairs.  
  
"Put this on," Sheik said when he got downstairs, and she tossed him a cloak that looked a lot like the one the stranger wore.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"We're wanted, remember? You're wearing green, you can't just waltz in there like you own the place."  
  
"Well excuse me," Link muttered.  
  
"What about me?" Navi asked. "I'm definitely going to attract attention, and people in Kakariko know me because I've been there before. They might connect me to you two."  
  
"Hide in Sheik's pocket."  
  
"Okay...wait a second, what about the horses? People will recognize them, too."  
  
"Don't worry about it," Sheik said. "We'll hide them when we get there."  
  
In a few minutes, the trio had said goodbye to Malon and Talon, and were riding towards Kakariko.  
  
"I wonder if that guy'll see us dressed like this," Link smirked. "Sure would be a nice surprise for him."  
  
Sheik just shrugged.  
  
When they got to Kakariko, nothing seemed very different. The houses looked the same, except for the building that had previously been under construction. There weren't even any Gerudo around.  
  
"You go check things out, make sure there's no Gerudo to chop our heads off," Link said.  
  
"What're you going to do?"  
  
"I'll see if anyone's waiting to brutally murder us in the graveyard."  
  
"Okay...."  
  
Link, in fact, had other reasons for wanting to go to the graveyard. He wanted to see the graves of his mother and father. He knew his might be there too, but he had already decided that he wouldn't look at it if he didn't want to.  
  
Sheik went to the starting trail of Death Mountains, and Link jogged toward the graveyard, congratulating himself on being able to get rid of his friends for a minute.  
  
* * *  
  
Originally, he had come to see Dampé's grave. But the graves of Sam, Alanai, and Link had stood there in the corner of the graveyard, almost screaming at him. He had promised himself not to give himself more bad memories to brood on by looking at the graves. But here he was, looking down on them, thinking about the past as if it was standing right next to him.  
  
He paced back and forth in front of the graves. He had tried not to think about things that happened, but...that hadn't worked very well, to say the least.  
  
He wished he knew what happened. He had been wondering for seventeen years. Brooding wasn't going to do any good, but he couldn't help it. He hadn't wanted to visit their graves again, because he could see in his mind every detail of those graves, without having to look at them. But they wouldn't stay out of his thoughts.  
  
Suddenly, a noise behind him broke his train of thought. Someone was coming. He raced to get inside the grave keeper's hut before they found him, whoever it was.  
  
Johan saw, by looking through the small window of the hut, a cloaked figure. It came walking in the graveyard stealthily, as if tying not to be tracked. He could tell it was a man, because the cloak did not hide the broad shoulders.  
  
Johan was surprised when the figure also stopped at the graves. This man, whoever he was, knew Sam and Alanai? The figure pulled back his hood and took a breath of fresh air, and stood still for a very long time. He was positioned so that Johan couldn't see his face, but he caught a flash of green before the hood went back up.  
  
Link, Johan thought.  
  
* * *  
  
Link pulled back the hood of his cloak to get some air. It was stuffy inside of that thing.  
  
He looked down on his father's grave, then his mother's. He decided not to look at his. It might freak him out.  
  
He didn't know why, but there was a deep aching, a longing, to know these people. They seemed like phantoms of a dream, shadows that kept eluding him. He wished he could remember them, but he knew he didn't have a chance. He had been too young. He would have given almost anything to change that, but he couldn't.  
  
He wondered what they had been like. Seven years ago, Dampé had told him the story of the graves, and Link had felt like it was off on a few details. Now he knew why. But Dampé had also described Link's parents. Link pulled his hood back on, thinking.  
  
"'The man was the Head Knight in the King's army'," Link said softly under his breath, remembering Dampé's words from long before. "'He had to go out on trips a lot, and he made maps for the group of soldiers he had trained, along with all of his other work. He was a good swordsman, had natural skill.' So that's how come I can fight so well. And that's where the map came from." Link closed his eyes and tried to remember what Dampé had said about his mother.  
  
"'The woman was skilled with the ocarina, she played it almost as well as her husband. Quick with the bow and arrows, too. Almost never missed. She had a big heart.' And that's why I can play the ocarina and it's why I have good aim. Do I have a big heart, too?" he murmured. Now he wanted to be like these people that were strangers to him. He couldn't explain why. Maybe some part of him thought that being like them would help ease the ache to know them. It was stupid, but he couldn't stop thinking about it.  
  
"I wonder what they looked like," he said softly. Did he look anything like them? Did they have his blue eyes? His red-blonde hair?  
  
"Link, you're an idiot," he muttered. Great, he was talking to himself. That would certainly help prove he was sane. "Just forget about it," he muttered. "Just forget it."  
  
He stood there staring at the graves, avoiding looking at the one that was his, until something made him spin around. He felt like he was being watched.  
  
"Is anyone there?" he called out.  
  
There wasn't a sound.  
  
"I'm such a paranoid," Link muttered. But he still felt like he was being watched.  
  
Then he remembered Sheik was looking for Gerudo guards, and that he should get back so that her and Navi wouldn't worry. He took one last look around, decided that his imagination was running away with him, and took off toward the village.  
  
"We have a problem," Sheik said when he reached her.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"We can't get up to the mountain. Part of it's been blown off, it's just a flat rock face."  
  
Link groaned. "Perfect. Hang on, I want to look."  
  
Sheik accompanied him to the bottom of the mountain. Link noticed its top had sparks shooting out, and he noticed a lot of rubble near the trailhead. He guessed a violent eruption had caused the mountain to fall apart. There was no doubt that the eruption was due to Ganon and his evil.  
  
"We can't get up the mountain," Link muttered.  
  
"I could have told you that," Sheik said, using his own line against him.  
  
He glared at her and said lowly under his breath, "Navi, what do you think?"  
  
"I have no idea," Navi whispered. "I don't know the song to get to the Fire Temple and even if I did, we would all die from the heat, did you think of that?"  
  
"I did," said a muffled voice from behind them. Link turned and was not at all surprised to find the cloaked man standing there.  
  
"A long time ago," the man said, "Hylians and Gorons lived peacefully together, instead of one being wary of the other. The Hylians mined Death Mountain for rupees and gold, and they gave the rocks to the Gorons for food. In return, the Gorons gave the Hylians special cloth made from Dodongo hide and red, heat resistant, bomb flower leaves. That was a long time ago, so not a lot of that cloth exists anymore. But I have some here." The man drew out a red bundle from his cloak and tossed it to Link. "There are two of them. I thought you might need them."  
  
Link unfolded the bundle. There were two red pieces of cloth. He gave one to Sheik, then said, "Do you mind telling us how to get up the mountain?"  
  
"There are the old underground tunnels that the Hylians used to mine, but those will probably cave in. I recommend you play the Bolero of Fire." The man pulled out an ivory ocarina with gold designs painted on it.  
  
"Hey, I thought your ocarina was black," Navi said from under the cloak.  
  
"I have six different ocarinas, and a few other instruments to go along with that," the man said, looking at Sheik, correctly assuming Navi had hidden in her pocket.  
  
But before the man could teach them the vital song that would allow them into the Fire Temple, there was a shout in the village. They all raced to see what was happening.  
  
A Gerudo woman was arguing with a Hylian woman. They were pulling at something. Upon a second glance, Link could see it was a valuable piece of jewelry. There was a crowd of people around them, growing steadily.  
  
"Give that back!" the Hylian woman cried. "It was my mother's!"  
  
"It's mine, now," the Gerudo snarled. "Gold like that will please His Majesty greatly."  
  
"Ganon is not our king," the woman said, and several people in the crowd cheered. "He is scum! I wait for the day when he must go through all that he has done to us, twice over!"  
  
The Gerudo finally overpowered the woman, snatched the jewelry from her, and pushed her to the ground. "You will pay for that," the woman snarled. "You can die waiting. You can die in the Market."  
  
The woman shrieked, and scrambled to her feet. She ran about three feet before five or six guards came rushing toward her, and tied her hands behind her back.  
  
But Link had seen enough.  
  
"Leave her alone!" He shouted, drawing his sword. His hood was still up, but he could see well enough to fight.  
  
All of the Gerudo turned to him, and he realized he was outnumbered ten to one. Sheik seemed to have realized the same thing, because she joined him, her claws coming out of the cloak.  
  
The battle began in a spilt second. The Gerudo women whipped out their swords and Link realized that they were better than he thought.  
  
He knocked out two, and Sheik knocked out one more, but there were still six or seven guards left, and by this time, they were both exhausted. Then the ground beneath them rumbled, and the remaining guards were knocked to the ground. They tried to get back up, but a white ball of light came out of nowhere and hit one guard, and it wasn't long before more balls of light hit the others.  
  
Link turned around, sheathing his sword, and saw the cloaked man putting away his dagger. "Whoa, did you do that?"  
  
The man nodded. "I don't naturally posses the ability to do magic, but I learned it from books. We had better hurry, they'll wake up in a moment." The man walked over to the woman and untied her. "Are you all right?"  
  
The woman nodded. "Until they wake up. Friend, who are you?"  
  
"Just that. A friend. And they won't remember any of this when they wake up. So you're safe. You had better hide this." The man walked over to one of the fallen Gerudo and pried the jewelry from her hands. He tossed it back to the woman.  
  
One of the Gerudo stirred. One of the ones Link had knocked out. She jumped up and pulled back his hood before he could even get out his sword.  
  
He heard several people gasp. "It's Link!"  
  
"Link? Really?"  
  
"Look, he's wearing green! That's Link!"  
  
Link was stunned by both the reactions of the people and by the Gerudo's attack, but the man whipped out his dagger and shot another ball of light at the woman. She fell to the ground, and a dazed Link pulled his hood back up.  
  
"What the hell?" he muttered. Everyone here knew who he was? Why? How?  
  
"Do you have something to write with?" the man asked them, ignoring the amazed stares of the crowd and of Link.  
  
"Uh, yeah."  
  
"Good." The man told him the notes of the Bolero, and Link scribbled it down on the back of his map. He figured he could keep all of his songs there, write them down when he had time.  
  
"Are you Link?" a voice shouted from the crowd of people.  
  
"Uhh...."  
  
"You had better get out of here," the man murmured. "Everyone thinks Link is dead."  
  
"No kidding," Link hissed. What was going on? But before he had time to think about it, Sheik had grabbed his arm and pulled him back to the trailhead, out of sight.  
  
"What just happened?" she asked, ducking behind some dried out foliage.  
  
"No idea."  
  
They stayed hidden until the crowd had departed back to their homes, then cautiously looked around town for the cloaked man. They looked for a little while, then gave up and returned to the trailhead. He was standing there waiting on them.  
  
"Do you mind telling me what just happened?" Link asked angrily.  
  
"You're famous," the man said, chuckling. "Ganon has been ordering for the capture of Link for a very long time, and by now, everyone knows why. Link is the Hero of Time, the savoir of Hyrule. Not a single person in this town would turn you in. You remember the Gerudo that attacked you? Did you see the armbands?"  
  
Link nodded. "Yeah." There had been a piece of black cloth tied around the right arm on every Gerudo that had been in the battle.  
  
"They mark the Gerudo in Ganon's private army. Sometimes they don't wear them, to try and fool people, but if they are wearing them, you watch out. Nice disguises, by the way," the man said. Link could almost hear him smirking.  
  
"His idea," Link said, jerking a thumb at Sheik. He was finally starting to remember that she was a male to the rest of the world.  
  
"There's just one more thing you need to know before I leave you," the man said, and Link noticed his muffled voice was now very grave. "The Fire Sage is the former leader of the Gorons, Darunia. But...I'd be careful around him if I were you. The attack has made him bitter."  
  
"What do you mean former leader? And what attack?" Link asked.  
  
"Six years ago," the man said quietly, "There was a huge eruption on Death Mountain. It blew off half of the mountain, as you can see. It killed most of the Dodongos and a few Gorons. And out of the crater came a giant dragon, Volvagia. This dragon had been killed many years ago by an ancestor of Darunia's. It had been eating Gorons for a long time, and the leader finally forged a hammer and crushed the dragon's skull, the cost being his own life. But Ganon brought the dragon back from the dead, and it ate almost every Goron on Death Mountain."  
  
Link and Sheik both gasped. Sheik had been Zelda at the time of the eruption, and had not known of the attack, and Link, of course, had been sealed away in the Sacred Realm. Navi had been with him at the time, but had heard something about the Gorons being eaten when she had started looking for Zelda.  
  
"The only two Gorons left were Darunia and his son, which he named after you, Link," the man said. Seeing the shocked look on Link's face, he continued, "He didn't forget you. He considered you a brother and all the Gorons honored your defeat of the giant Dodongos until the day they died. Darunia wasn't able to stop the dragon, but he hid himself and his son when the dragon attacked. Then Darunia went to the Fire Temple to even the score. He took his son with him, to be sure he could watch him at all times. But Ganon himself showed up, and fed the boy to the dragon before Darunia's eyes. Darunia was restrained so that he could do nothing but struggle as his son screamed for help and died." The man's muffled voice now had a hard, bitter note to it.  
  
"That monster," Sheik said, her eyes wide beneath the hood. "That horrible monster."  
  
"Ganon's intentions had been to kill all of the Gorons, so that there would be no Fire Sage," the man continued heavily, "but just before Ganon fed him to the dragon, Darunia escaped and hid in the depths of the Fire Temple, a place that not even Ganon can go, because of the heat. I assume Darunia still wants to kill the dragon, and I also assume he knows that he is the Fire Sage. But I advise you to be careful all the same. He'll probably remember you, Link, which is good. What you need to do is get the medallion and get him to the Sacred Realm."  
  
Link nodded, past words. Darunia had been helpless to save his people, then had heard his son screaming for help, and had not been able to save him. He had watched his son get eaten alive. He had saw his son die. Ganon was not a monster. He was worse. He was something much worse. He had to be stopped.  
  
"How do you know all of this?" Navi asked quietly, freeing herself from Sheik's pocket and sitting on Link's shoulder.  
  
"Darunia himself told me when I went looking for him in the Fire Temple."  
  
"Ganon is a monster," Sheik repeated, still sounding shocked. "A hideous monster."  
  
The man nodded. "You three had better hurry."  
  
Link nodded. "Right."  
  
He got out the Ocarina of Time, and Sheik got out her harp. Together they played the Bolero of Fire, and in a bright flash of red light, sped away toward the Fire Temple.  
  
AN: Ganon's got it coming to him now. Lol, getting Link mad is prolly not a good idea. *evil cackle* (I love how much faster I can make chappies when my comp ain't rebootin'.) I have a surprise planned for poor Linky after the Fire Temple tho...just something to leave you wondering. Wish my muses good luck, and I can get the next chap in soon. *goes off to hunt muses*  
  
~Gemini Sage 


	19. Chapter TwentyThree: Stained with Scarle...

Author's Notes: Wow. THAT took awhile. Sorry for the delay, I've been re-editing the old chapters so they look decent. When all the chaps get edited, I'll post them, but until then, they stay on mah comp.

Actually, I got writer's block at the end of the fire maze, which made me go back and edit the old chaps...for...something to DO...but I wrote the rest of the chap in one sitting. I don't know why my muse took but, but I'm thankful. So...enjoy! A warning; this is a little...bloody. (Note the chapter title.) And angsty. But enjoy it anyway.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Stained with Scarlet

It was hot inside the crater. Too hot.

Link and Sheik raced to drape themselves in the red cloth. They took off the old cloaks they had been using as a disguise, because the heat had caused them to catch fire. Link considered himself lucky that he didn't catch fire before he got the Goron Cloak on. He decided to get someone, probably Malon, to sew it into a tunic and hat for him when he got back, but for now, it would have to do.

He had thought it was stuffy inside the other cloak, but it was even worse inside the crater, so that the cloak he was wearing now felt cool and airy compared to the rest of the world. The crater itself was nothing but an orange blur to Link, who couldn't see more than a few feet in front of him because of the smoke and heat waves.

"Whew," Link said. "Remind me to put the cloak on next time. I nearly got cooked. Where's Navi? Navi? Hello?"

"I'm in your pocket," she said. "I nearly got burned to a crisp. It's like—"

"The pits of hell?" Sheik suggested.

"Watch it, you. Anybody see the Fire Temple?"

"All I can see is fire, no temple in sight," said Link. He and Sheik looked around a little more, then he said, "Ah, man, there it is. If it was a snake, it woulda bit me."

"I don't see anything."

"Well look harder! Look, over that way—no, that way."

"Oh. Are you sure that's a door?"

"No, but there's only one way to find out." Link carefully made his way across the few rocks that hadn't melted to an opening in the stone. "It's a door all right. Are you coming?"

"Yeah." Sheik followed Link's route to the door. It turned out that the door was actually a tunnel, and there was the remains of a wooden bridge to cross before they could continue.

"That looks safe," Link commented conversationally, and Navi peered out of his pocket to look at it.

"No it doesn't. How come it hasn't burned up yet?"

"I guess we're just lucky."

"No," Sheik said, "There was probably magic involved. Look at how it looks...wet. There's probably a spell on it to keep it from igniting."

"See, I knew that. I'm _never_ lucky."

Sheik couldn't help laughing. "You'd better hope we get lucky crossing that."

Link sighed. "I guess I have to go first." Cautiously, he began making his way across the bridge, stopping every few seconds. He got across safely, and Sheik started going across.

She didn't realize so many of the planks had been missing. They were definitely wet, because they looked rotten and they were slippery. One plank burned away while she watched, and she knew she didn't have a lot of time to lag around. The gap was too big to step over, and she was almost to the other side, so she jumped. She realized a split second too late that it was a bad idea, or that she should have jumped a little farther; some of the planks broke under her weight and she fell down, toward the lava below...

...and was jerked to an abrupt halt when Link grabbed her by the arm.

"Shouldn't have done that," Link grunted as he pulled her up to the bridge.

"I know," she said shakily, trying to hide her fear. "Thanks."

Link shrugged and they stepped onto the stone ahead. "Please tell me this is a door," he muttered.

It was.

"Yes!" Link said, pumping a fist into the air. "I'll go f—" Link stopped dead in his tracks.

"What?" Navi and Sheik said together.

"Is that Darunia? Hey," he said, walking forward, "Darunia, is that you?"

Sheik had mistaken it for a boulder, but it stood up as Link approached.

"Brother...little brother..._Link_?" The last word came out in a broken cry.

Link reached Darunia quickly, Sheik hot on his heels. Darunia had been sitting on a nearby rock, looking depressed, but he was now smiling. "Brother, how on earth did you get here?"

"How'd you know who I was, through the cloak?"

"Gorons have a very good sense of smell. I see you have some of our cloth." The Goron smiled again. "But where did you get it? We don't make much of it anymore."

"A friend gave it to me." Link couldn't explain why he was as happy as he was to see the Goron, but he was. He was glad to know his "brother" was okay. "How are you?" he added tentatively.

"Hard times," the Goron grunted, but the pain in his eyes was evident. "Especially since this medallion showed up. I've been having dreams of a man called Rauru telling me to come and join him in the Sacred Realm."

"You have the medallion?" Sheik asked, thunderstruck. "Listen, do you mind if we borrow it? We have to—"

"No," Darunia said sharply. "I'm not leaving the Temple or giving you the medallion until I have killed Volvagia." He seemed to pulse with anger as he said, "That dragon killed every last Goron on this mountain except me. I only live to fight Ganon and to kill the dragon."

He sighed. "I must have the hammer that the Old Brother used. The Megaton Hammer. I have searched this temple up and down, but I cannot find it, and I have no hope of killing the dragon without it." He eyed Link closely. "Brother, we have bargained before, will you bargain again?"

Link glanced at Sheik, who gave a slight, almost unnoticeable nod.

"Sure," Link said cautiously.

"Brother, if you find the hammer that I cannot, then I can kill the dragon. If I kill the dragon, I will do whatever you want me to with this medallion. I will leave this place and go to the Sacred Realm like the man Rauru told me to, if that's what you need. But I won't budge until I myself have killed the dragon."

Link took another glance at Sheik who nodded openly this time. "We'll do it," she said, and Link nodded.

Darunia sighed again and sat back down. "I have looked this temple top to bottom. I'm tired of it. I won't look any more. You will have to go by yourselves."

Again they nodded. Link felt so bad for the Goron. It was obvious how much he missed his family. Link realized it was something they had in common; they had both lost their families to Ganondorf. Link recognized Darunia's loneliness, something that surprised him. Sheik must have recognized it too, which was probably the reason she was being so agreeable.

That, and Link _had_ just saved her life.

"Good luck, brother," said Darunia. "Link."

x x x

"I think there was something on those vines in the Forest Temple. I itch," Link complained, about half an hour later.

Sheik rolled her eyes.

"No, I do," Link said, scratching his hand.

"That's nice," Sheik said blandly. "Now, which way are we going?"

"How should I know? Here, Navi, you pick one."

They had bypassed the room where they had met Darunia, and they were now standing in a room with a staircase and three exits. One was up the stairs and to the left, one was up the stairs and to the right, and the other was the place from where they had just came.

"Go right," Navi said from Sheik's cloak.

"Why?"

"I dunno."

"Well, I'm glad we have someone we can rely on," Link said, keeping his face straight. "With a gut instinct like that, who would I be to go left instead of—hey!"

Link was cut off when Sheik started walking to the door on the right, leaving him standing there.

"No fair, Sheik," he said, running to catch up to her. They bickered for a minute about who was going through the door first, then Sheik decided—out loud—that she was getting tired of Link acting like a scared little cucco, and Link went in first.

Even through the heat-resistant cloth of the cloaks they were wearing, all three of them felt as if they had walked into an oven the minute they opened the door. In this room there was another "wet" bridge, which, Link saw with relief, looked a lot sturdier than the last one they had crossed over; it spanned so far across the room that Link couldn't see the end of it through the haze and the smog. There were small stone islands big enough for two or three people to stand on around the room; they looked like a giant set of stepping stones, but Link knew these were far more dangerous to cross than the ones on a river. He couldn't see the ceiling, but he knew that there was sky above, because they must have been in the very core of the crater; it felt like the inside of an oven, and that was with the cloak on. He knew that if it wasn't for the cloth, he would have been dead about ten minutes ago.

"Is it just me, or is it kinda chilly in here?"

"Link, shut up," said Navi, laughing.

"Make me!" Link smirked.

"Knock it off, you two," Sheik said. "Let's just get across the bridge."

"All right, all right," Link said. In order to prevent Sheik from calling him a cucco again, he went first without argument.

"C'mon," he called to them, "it's a lot safer than the one we crossed before."

Sheik looked like she highly doubted this, but she followed him anyway. They reached the other side without any further interruptions. They found a door waiting on them. Again, Link went first and did not argue about it.

In this room, there was a geyser that shot lava every few seconds, several keese, and a lot of debris. Where it had came from, Link couldn't imagine, but there were all kinds of rocks, and twisted metal that had melted, then been solidified into stone.

"Well, this is a dead end," Navi said. "We can look for the hammer somewhere else."

"Yeah, okay," Link said, and he turned to leave, but Sheik caught him by the arm.

"Wait a sec," she said. "I got an idea. Help me, wouldja?"

She released his arm and climbed to the top of the debris pile. Link followed, confused.

"Help me push this," she said. She was indicating a large rock that was almost square. "It'll land on the geyser and we can ride it up to the next floor."

If Link had had any uncertainties that she carried the Triforce of Wisdom before this, they vanished then. No one else he knew could have thought of that. Maybe she didn't act like the stereotypical wise person, but she most definitely had something he didn't.

Navi picked up on his thoughts and started laughing to herself as Link and Sheik pushed the rock to the edge of the pile.

"When we push it off," Sheik said, as if she did this every day, "we'll have about three seconds to get on it and brace ourselves. If there's any type of ceiling, we'll have to jump before the rock hits it, and if there's no landing up there, we'll have to get off of the rock before it comes back down. Okay?"

Mutely, Link nodded.

"Right, no problem," he muttered to Navi. "Of course, we'll get burned to a crisp in the process, but hey, I can live with that...."

Navi laughed. Sheik ignored them.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Go for it."

"On three—one—two—three—" With an almighty shove, they pushed the rock off of the pile, and jumped down onto it. Link didn't have anything to brace himself against, but he thought it was better that way—if he had something to hang on to, he might be too reluctant to let go.

He felt a rumbling under his feet and crouched, pulling Sheik down with him, so that they wouldn't be knocked over by the force of the blast. The lava shot up from the geyser and the rock flew upwards at a tremendous speed; in half a second, Link could see a landing to jump to, and he could also see a stone roof that they would crash into if they didn't.

He grabbed Sheik's arm and hurled the two of them off the rock just in time. Thankfully, they were able to watch their one way transport crash into the ceiling from a distance.

"How delightful," Link said in a arrogant, snobbish tone that made him sound like he had a headcold. "Our transport has been eliminated. Whatever shall we do?"

"We shall shove you off this ledge if you don't shut up," Sheik muttered. Navi laughed quietly.

Link took a second to look down, and regretted it at once. It was a long way, and the lading was very small, with only one door. He was forcefully reminded of the fall he had taken in the Deku Tree. He hadn't been fond of heights before then, but now, they scared him to a degree where he liked the ground a lot better than he used to. Instead of voicing this, however, even though he knew Navi would see what was going through his mind, he said, "You can't shove me cause I'll shove you first."

Sheik rolled her eyes and put a hand on her hip, suddenly appearing much more feminine than usual. "Link, you're an idiot."

"You're a bigger one."

Navi, who was shaking with suppressed laugher, let out a snort.

"Navi, did you just _snort_?" Link asked, in disbelief.

"Yes," Navi choked. Link started cracking up. He knew Navi pretty well, and she didn't seem like the type who snorted.

"C'mon, this is stupid, you two are acting like kids," Sheik said. "Let's go."

"Go where? In case you haven't noticed, that door has a lock on it."

"Not anymore." While they had all been bickering, Sheik had been picking the huge padlock on the door. As she spoke, it fell to the rocky floor, and she kicked it over the ledge.

Link let out a low whistle. "Where'd you learn to do that? That lock is huge!"

Sheik's eyes twinkled mischievously. "Zelda learned the trick when she was very young. It involves a little magic, but...we both know that Shekiah can use magic too."

Link caught the message; Impa had taught it to her when she was little.

"You hold on to that one. Could be useful...."

Sheik bit back a smirk and opened the door.

There was fire in every corner. Flames shot from the roof, floors, and walls. Link wandered aimlessly into the middle of the room and then jumped back as a wall of flame erupted in front of him.

Link cursed, then said, "We're never going to make it past here. It's like a...maze."

"So?" Navi said. "I can fly up there and tell you which way to—oh, I forgot...too hot...."

"We're lucky," said Sheik, and Link snorted.

"Yeah, sure we are."

The trio stood a minute, thinking.

"Link, you still got the hookshot? I mean, it didn't melt, did it?"

"No, but it will if I take it out."

There was a pause.

"You know, Shekiah are so good at magic, maybe they can make things wet, just like the bridge _I saved you_ on. Do you think a certain Shekiah I know would mind doing me a small favor?" Link asked, putting a strong emphasis on the words "I saved you."

It took about five seconds for her to fall for the guilt trip.

Sheik sighed. "Give it here. Geez, I've done more magic in the past week than I have in the last five years...."

Link took out the hookshot, but didn't remove it from the cloak. What was she going to do now?

Sheik muttered something in Old Hylian, then grabbed the hookshot from Link's hands. Only a moment passed between the time the hookshot left the cloak and the time when it touched Sheik's hands; fortunately, it wasn't a long enough moment for the hookshot to melt. It now looked wet, as the bridges had.

"Cool," Link, grinning. "Now what?"

"Shoot it at the ceiling," Navi said, catching on to Sheik's idea.

"Are you nuts? It'd carry me up there and drop me back on the ground. I'd break my neck, then get fried to a crisp. Sorry, try again."

"No," said Navi, rolling her eyes. "The man who gave it to us, he said something about—about—it would stick to any surface except solid rock or metal."

"So then what good will it do?" asked Link.

"Just do it!" Sheik and Navi said in unison, irritated.

"Women. All right, here goes," said Link, ignoring whatever comments his companions decided to make at his remark.

He shot the hookshot at the ceiling, and dust rained down from above. The motion sensitive flames shot up when the dust reached the floor, and the trio got a brief glance of where the walls of fire were.

They stood there, trying to take a mental picture. When the flames died down, Link cautiously stepped forward into the maze.

Nothing happened.

"Go...left," Navi said, peering out of Sheik's pocket. "Well, follow him, Sheik, or we'll get lost!"

"Okay, okay...stupid fairy."

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing."

"S'what I thought," said Navi, satisfied.

They made their way through the maze slowly but steadily. Every time someone doubted as to which way they were supposed to go, Link would shoot his hookshot at the ceiling or throw a rock in front of him to make sure there were no flames waiting to torch them when they passed.

At last, they made it to the other side of the room.

"Well, that was interesting," Navi said. "I wonder who thought that up, it's genius...."

"It is not," Link complained. "It's terrible of them."

"Whatever. Hey, do you hear something?" Navi added.

The trio had walked into another room while they were talking. There hadn't had a real door, just an opening. After a short walk through a tunnel, they had ended up standing on a metal grate. They had continued walking on it disinterestedly, however, and even though Link felt like a cucco on a grill, he kept his jokes to himself.

"I don't hear anything," Link said. "You're paranoid."

"I swear I heard something."

Link rolled his eyes at Sheik, and they turned around.

Then they all yelled, turned around again, and started running.

Coming toward them were towering flames, burning everything in sight. The noise Navi heard was the grate sizzling as it was torched by the flames. Under the heatproof cloaks, none of them had felt the fire approaching, and might not have noticed until it was too late, had it not been for Navi.

Link half expected to see skulls as he ran through the room, but his brain told him that there wouldn't be anything left of the people who had died here. When he got to the other side of the room, however, he found he was wrong.

There was no door and no escape route. The flames were inching closer, and the three of them were trapped. Link clearly saw scratches on the walls, as if many people had tried to claw their way out before. He also saw that the walls were scorched, and some of the marks looked horribly human-shaped.

"Okay, this is bad," he said, panicking, as his eyes fell on the walls.

"Isn't there a way out?" Navi asked desperately.

_Think fast,_ Link thought, looking around. He spotted a chest sitting on a far away ledge. It was too tall to climb under normal circumstances, but....

Link grabbed Sheik by the arm, pulled out his hookshot, and shot it at the chest. They tore upward just as the flames reached the wall, and collapsed onto the ledge.

Sheik was shaking. "Close call," she said. Then here eyes went wide. "Hey," she said slowly, "Darunia couldn't get up here...could he? He doesn't have a hookshot, and I doubt it would hold him up anyway...maybe the hammer is near here, and if it is...."

Link and Navi caught on quickly.

"Darunia can kill the dragon, and go to the Sacred Realm..." Navi said slowly.

"...and we can get the medallion..." Link added.

"...and we'll be one step closer to defeating Ganon," Sheik finished.

"Should we split up or something?"

"Don't you know that's always how people get killed, splitting up?"

"No, you're just afraid I won't be around to save you next time you get in trouble."

"Shut up."

x x x

An hour later found the trio running up to Darunia, looking excited.

"We found it," Link announced, when they got within earshot. "We found the hammer!"

"What?" Darunia asked, standing up. "What are you talking about, brother?"

"Well," Link said excitedly, "We found the hammer."

"But where is it?"

"That's the problem," Sheik said. "It's too heavy. We can't pick it up. But we can get you to where it is...if you can climb."

"Of course I can climb. Show me."

Link, Sheik, Navi, and Darunia all took the path back to the room with the metal grates. Darunia was fairly impressed with how they got through the maze.

"My body is immune to all but the hottest flames," he said. "I walked right through it."

While journeying back through the maze, Darunia asked how they had found the hammer. Link told him about how they had used the hookshot when they had thought the flames would catch up to them in the room with the grates.

"So we figured it had to be over there somewhere, since you probably hadn't been there yet," said Link, shooting his hookshot at the ceiling. Sheik took a mental picture and again led them through the maze, while Link talked. "We found a key in the chest, went into a locked door, and found this weird...thing. It was like a person, but it was made of fire. Navi liked to call it a Flare Dancer."

"Well, that's what it was," she said sensibly. "The fairies that live on Death Mountain told me about it once."

"There are fairies on Death Mountain?"

"There used to be. I guess they've all left by now. But there used to be fairies everywhere, not just the forest. They were our source of information about the outside world."

"Oh. Anyway," Link said, shooting his hookshot again, "the thing attacked us, and I used almost all of my bombs trying to kill it. Turns out the middle was solid enough, and didn't like explosions."

"We're here," Sheik announced.

"Okay. Well, after it left, we took another fire geyser to a room above that, and there was the hammer, wedged in a corner."

"We both tried to pull it out," Sheik said, finally joining in the conversation, "I even tried to kick it loose. But it wouldn't budge. We figured a Goron could pick it up, though."

"You were right. But I have been in this room, and never noticed anything but the fire. It never harmed me, because my body is too used to the heat, but the room seemed like a dead end."

"Good thing it's one way," Navi muttered. "It didn't come up on our way back, I guess whoever made it figured no one would come back."

"Darunia, if you can climb the wall to where we go, then we can get you to the hammer. Are you sure the fire won't hurt you?" Sheik asked.

"Yes, I've been in here before."

"Okay," Sheik said. "Link, when we get in, run. Then shoot us up to the ledge."

"I could have figured that out for myself."

"Ready?"

"Yes already!"

"Then go!"

They took off, to make sure there was plenty of distance between them and the flames. Darunia stood still, waited for the flames to pass, then followed. They were already on the ledge when he got there, and the flames had died out.

Darunia climbed the rock ledge, leaving dents where he had grabbed the rock. It was then Link realized how powerful Gorons truly were, and he shuddered when he wondered what kind of force Ganon must have been able to use to restrain the Goron while feeding his son to the dragon.

When they were all safely on the ledge, Link and Sheik led Darunia to the hammer. He pulled it out easily, as if were feather-light.

"Thank you, brother. Now I can kill the dragon...when I am done, I'll have to push him into the lava, to make sure his body is beyond all repair, to make sure he cannot be brought back again."

Link felt a tiny part of brain sigh in relief. Revenge had not seemed like the Goron. Link couldn't have blamed him if that had been the only reason Darunia wanted to kill the dragon, but he was also doing it so it would never be a menace to the world again.

They all made another trip through the temple, Back to the room they had come in after their first meeting with Darunia. He walked to the opposite door that Link and Sheik had originally gone through.

"This is where Volvagia lives," he said quietly, and Link felt relieved they had not gone through that door.

Darunia opened the door, then paused.

"Wish me luck, brother. And I thank you for finding the hammer."

"No problem," said Link, and he grinned at the look on Sheik's face.

x x x

Darunia walked slowly into the room. The dragon was here, he knew it. He could not remember being afraid before this, except when his people had been killed, but he was afraid now.

He was in a small room, standing alone. There was a small rock island, surrounded by lava.

All the sudden, he heard a roar from somewhere beneath him. The ground under his feet cracked. A head of a dragon shot up from the ground, and Darunia jumped back, clutching the hammer.

The dragon looked exactly as Darunia remembered. He had a mane made of fire, and sharp red scales the color of blood...he was long, almost twenty feet. He looked like a creature from hell, and, in Darunia's eyes, he was.

He had to destroy it...so the precious few things he had left would not be taken by it.

Darunia ran forward and hit the dragon with the hammer over and over. Volvagia could do nothing against him; the hammer was too powerful.

Darunia concentrated on his task, and not the memories that had flooded him at seeing the dragon again. He swung the hammer again and again, and finally, the dragon fell down, dead.

It was then that he let the barrier break. He couldn't stop it. He remembered the screams...hiding...and then Ganon...finding them...then...and then....

x x x

"Papa, what's happening?"

"It's all right, son. We're going to hide."

"But what about everyone else, Papa?"

Darunia, for the first time in his life, fought tears. "We can't help them...they're going to a happier place, where there is no Ganondorf."

"No Ganondorf? What place is that? Are we going there?"

Darunia could not answer. He picked up the small boy—small for a Goron, at any rate—and ran toward his bedroom. They had been in the middle of the village. Everything had been painted red with blood. A raging dragon was in the middle of the city, roaming around, picking off the Gorons one by one.

The entrance was piled with boulders, and everyone thought there was no escape. A few had tried to remove the boulders, but were immediately snapped up by the dragon. It didn't take very long for them to be eaten alive, but the screams that echoed off the walls were horrible; the pain must have been unreal.

And he knew somewhere, Ganondorf was watching all of this. And laughing. Laughing....

Darunia set his child down when they reached the bedroom.

"The dragon will be here any moment...son, you have to promise that no matter what happens to Papa, you will try to escape the dragon, understand?"

"But...."

"You have to promise."

"I—I promise."

"Good." Darunia pulled an ancient statue away from the wall and picked up his child again. "We'll go this way," he said.

"Where are we going?"

"We're going to hide from the dragon...I told you that. Don't worry, it will be okay. I'll take care of you, I promise."

How he wished later he could have taken back those words. It was the only promise he had ever broken to his son. It would be the last.

He had almost made it to the Fire Temple when the mountain shook.

_Not another eruption, please,_ Darunia thought desperately.

How he wished later that it had been an eruption.

The dragon who had destroyed his people came down, from the top of the crater, and landed in his path. It had blood all over it. Gore dripped from its long fangs. It roared at him menacingly, then lowered its head.

Darunia froze. His eyes went wide with shock and fear.

The dragon was carrying Ganondorf himself.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the last two Gorons alive," Ganondorf said.

_No,_ Darunia thought. _They can't all be...no...._

"I assure you, I'm not bluffing. You wouldn't let me have the Goron's Ruby when I asked for it...but that's okay. I got to the Triforce anyway."

Ganondorf held up his hand, which bore the mark of the Triforce. He enjoyed seeing the stoic Goron tremble before him...he was afraid for his life, and his son's life...with good reason. But Ganondorf decided he could toy with him, before he let him die....

An shadow formed around Darunia and his son. It was not a light with a black color, but a shadow. It took light away from the things around it.

The boy trembled, and Darunia held him close.

"If it is me you want, Ganon, then you can have me. But don't you dare touch my son."

"I wouldn't dream of it. That's Volvagia's job."

Darunia's son disappeared and reappeared outside of the black shadow.

"No!" Darunia screamed. "Leave him alone!"

"I'm not going to touch him," Ganondorf said, a wicked grin passing over his face. "Volvagia, it's snack time."

Darunia pleaded, begged, banged on the shadow walls. He called out to his son, tried to be heard over the screaming and the blood...he was powerless to stop it. Powerless.

It took forever. Infinity passed with each horrible second. And the harder he tried, the more hopeless it seemed. The world turned scarlet.

Then the leader of the strongest race in Hyrule collapsed onto the ground, defeated. Silence echoed and spiraled horribly. His son, his world, was gone.

He did not cry in front of Ganondorf. He refused to.

The shadow disappeared. Darunia stayed on the ground, defeated...what more did he have to live for? His world was gone. He was the last Goron.

"Volvagia," Ganondorf said again, "It's snack time."

These commanding words made the dragon move toward Darunia...but something in him did not want to get up. His son was gone. Why should he remain here?

"There will be no Fire Sage," Ganondorf laughed. "I cannot be imprisoned now! You're all too late...now I can rule this world forever."

Darunia clenched his fists. His fingers curled around the dust of ashes.

No.

Ganondorf could not rule this world....

He had to stop Ganon. He was the Fire Sage, now. He had a responsibility. He had to do what had to be done.

And so he fled...fled to the crater....

Ganondorf had not expected him to fight, or go to the one place where he could not be reached.

But he did.

He left everything he loved behind, and, as the last Goron alive, took on his role of Fire Sage.

x x x

Darunia snapped out of his trance...the memories were too much to bear. He relived them every night in his sleep, and that was more than enough.

He pushed Volvagia's body into the nearest pit of lava. There was a crash, then everything was silent.

_I am done,_ Darunia thought.

x x x

Link paced outside the door where Darunia had gone through. He had heard a lot of racket, then nothing. He wanted to go and make sure Darunia was all right, but was afraid of what he might find.

"Link you need to chill," said Sheik. "Worrying won't do you any good. He's probably just thinking. Let him be alone for a minute."

"But—"

Just then, there was a resounding crash from the room beyond that cut off his words. Link, ignoring protests from Navi and Sheik, yanked open the door and went in. Sheik bit her lip and followed.

There was Darunia, hammer in hand, and alone.

"It's all right, brother," Darunia said. "I pushed him into the lava. He will not threaten anyone ever again."

"He's gone? You actually...?"

"Yes, he stood no chance against me with the hammer."

"Wow."

"The medallion is yours, brother," Darunia said. "I have killed the dragon, and now I live to fight Ganon. There's only one thing I need to do first."

x x x

Darunia walked into the bright blue light. There were two people here. A little girl dressed in green, and a man wearing fancy orange robes.

"Welcome, Fire Sage," the man said. "I am Rauru, Sage of Light."

"Darunia," Darunia, and he shook the man's hand. "You are the one in my dreams, aren't you?"

Rauru nodded.

The girl stayed silent; Darunia guessed she had either never met a Goron before, or she was extremely shy. A ball of orange light flew out of her pocket.

"Well, go on," it said. "Introduce yourself, Saria!"

"Hi," she said cautiously, putting out her hand. "I'm Saria, a Kokiri. Are you a Goron?"

Darunia nodded. He shook her hand gently; she was very small, to him, and she looked very lonely.

Saria sighed, sat down on her green circle of stone, and began to play a wooden ocarina. Darunia recognized the tune, having heard it seven years ago when he thought his race was doomed.

And so he danced, danced to this lovely song that had cheered him before, and Saria laughed, and the two of them became friends.

x x x

Link, Sheik, and Navi all stood looking at the words that the Sage of Fire had carved into the side of the temple wall. Navi actually started crying, but not enough for anyone to notice. The inscription read:

**_Here lies a tribute to Link, my son, my life and world. In his name shall Ganon be defeated. And in his memory will I strive to maintain peace and all that is good throughout my life._**

Lying below the writing was the Megaton Hammer, struck into the ground so hard Link knew no one would ever be able to pull it again, except Darunia himself.

"C'mon," Link said softly. "Let's get outta here."

"'Kay."

They headed out of the temple.

"I just had a bad thought...how are we supposed to get back out of the crater? We can't go down the hundred foot ledge," Link said, biting his lip to keep from shivering. Heights bothered him.

"The passage to the Goron village from here," said Navi. "Darunia mentioned it before he left."

"Oh," said Link. Then: "But we still can't get down the mountain."

"We'll just look around and see what there is to see, then," Sheik said.

Link felt nervous, he wasn't sure why. It was almost like the experiences he had had in Jabu Jabu's stomach. He could tell something bad was going to happen, and he had to stop it.

"We shouldn't do that."

"Why?" Navi asked, sounding puzzled.

"I dunno," said Link uneasily.

"The we have no good reason not to go. Link, it may be the only way out."

"Okay...."

Link remained silent until they got to the Goron Village. Then, ignoring the stains of blood everywhere, he said, "We shouldn't do this."

"Why?"

"...we just shouldn't." Link's hand began to itch, but he was too preoccupied to notice.

"We have to find the way out, Link."

They stood in the doorway several minutes, letting their bodies cool off, then took off the cloaks and stood still awhile more. They both knew moving too fast would cause them to freeze to death.

Navi wanted to ask what in the world was wrong with him, but knew he wouldn't say anything in front of Sheik. She didn't think he'd mind her using the telepathic link.

_Link_, she thought, _what's wrong with you?_

Link was rusty, and it took him a few seconds to respond.

_Remember the feelings I got in Jabu Jabu's belly? I'm getting it again...I think something bad is going to happen._

_Well, this really is the only way out,_ Navi thought. _Just keep your eyes open._

_I will,_ Link thought, scratching his hand a little.

They walked through the city slowly, taking in what they saw in horror. The once proud Goron Village was just as Darunia had left it; stained with blood.

When they got to the exit, they could only walk a few feet before reaching the edge of the ledge. It was a hundred foot drop...straight down. Link hung back, but Sheik noticed.

"I get it now," she said, trying not to smirk. "You're scared of heights."

"I'm not scared of them. I just don't like them."

He related to her the story of his sixty foot dive in the Deku Tree, and how lucky he was to come out unscathed.

She felt a bit more sympathetic after that. She told him to wait, she would look and see if there was a way down.

As she approached the ledge, the feeling of dread welled up inside Link like a wildfire.

The mountain began to shake. The evil was gone, and the clouds were departing; it was making the volcano erupt.

Sheik stumbled, lost her balance, and, for the second time in one day, started falling.

Link's eyes went wide. He had started running before Sheik had started falling, and he made it in time to catch her before she fell.

"C'mon, hurry up," he said, as the mountain stopped shaking. He pulled her to the top of the ledge and she stood there for a minute, shaking.

"No way down," she said. "We'll have to warp to the Temple of Time."

"Okay," Link said.

Just then, the mountain began to shake again. Link, who was closer to the edge than Sheik, lost his balance.

He felt himself fall down, felt his hand brush against Sheik's, and saw her for a spilt second before he closed his eyes and yelled.

He plummeted down, and then felt excruciating pain. He heard several cracking noises. The pain grew more intense.

He heard voices, and he struggled to open his eyes, to answer them, but before he could, his world went dark.

AN: There's the thing I mentioned last time. Well, something bad happened. I'm so evil to do cliffhangers, I know...I just wanted to be mean. And I can finally do html, thanks to QuickEdit. Bless the person who made that. Bless them.

Maybe I'll get more reviews this way. Yeah, speaking of reviews...they cure writer's block! So review me! Even if you thought the chapter sucked!

Thank you. : )

EDIT: Um, can anyone ell me why the little stars aren't working? That's going to be a problem, I use them all the time. See, when I put them in QuickEdit, they just...dissappear. I tried horizontal lines, but they didn't work either. Now I'm uploading this with the x's instead of either of those...but x's suck. I just hope they work! If anyone can help me fix this, I'd be VERY greatful  
  
PS, who do I email with a bug report?


	20. Chapter TwentyFour: Rescue and Recovery

Author's Notes: It has just come to my attention that my story is depressing. The sad fact is that I never realized it until Greki's review showed up...this does have a lot of angst in it, doesn't it? Actually, this is one of those cheesy, power of the human spirit things. Trust me, it has a happy ending. I know that's a bit spoiler-ish, but you really can't expect anything else from me. I know it can get depressing, but PLEASE don't let that turn you off. I don't think this chap is too bad—lotsa cool stuff happens. : ) I won't spoil it for you, but at least nobody dies. This might be the last chap for awhile tho, the Water Temple is next and OY, that's gonna be hard...I'll have to break out the guidebook just to figure out the maps.

PS, Thanks to the people who visited my sucky webspace and submitted reviews!! I really need to update the webspace. Oo' Heh, anyway, enjoy the chap!

Chapter Twenty-Four: Rescue and Recovery

Sheik watched in horror as Link plunged over the ledge. She tried to grab his hand, actually felt it brush hers, but she'd been too late.

Link hated heights. And he wouldn't have been over there...if it had not been for her. And now...would she ever get the chance to tell him she was sorry?

Navi, who had been sitting on her shoulder, immediately flew down after Link, to see if he was okay. Sheik was stranded up there, Navi knew, but she had to check on Link.

"Link!" she panted, when she got down. "Link, wake up! Wake up! Are you okay? Wake up, please!"

A fairy-sized tear rolled down her face and dropped onto the parched ground.

"Don't be dead, Link...please, don't be dead...."

She had to find help. She didn't have time to tell Sheik where she was going.

Navi knew a couple of people in this village, and knew they would help her, but what about the Gerudo? What if they found Link before help did? Navi flew faster at the very thought.

With a stroke of brilliance she didn't know she possessed, she headed for the graveyard. Some gut instinct told her that was where her best chance of help was. She flew straight to the gravekeeper's hut, and dove in the open window.

And there he was. Sitting at a desk, reading an old book.

The cloaked man looked up, shocked, as she entered.

_I knew I should have left sooner,_ he thought. _I didn't catch them when they got out. But that still doesn't explain...._

"What are you doing here?" the man asked harshly.

"Link," Navi panted. "He fell...off of Death Mountain. Sheik's still on top. We need help. Please."

"Lead the way," the man said quickly, getting up and walking out the door.

x x x

Sheik stood atop the mountain, even though it continued to shake. She was waiting...waiting for someone to come back, waiting for a way to get down, waiting for Link to get up and make another stupid joke....

"Wake up," she whispered. "Goddesses, please, help him to wake up. Help us help him. Please...."

Just then, she saw, from her perch high above the mountain, a cloaked figure walking quickly from the village to the trailhead. Was it him?

It was. He knelt beside Link, as if checking for signs of life. Sheik closed her eyes, and waited....

x x x

"Is he...I mean, he isn't...." Navi couldn't get the words out.

The man said nothing, just felt for a pulse by putting his fingers near Link's neck. That was the place where the pulse was most evident, and, if it was there, the only place he would be able to feel it.

He didn't feel anything. He pressed his fingers harder, and heard himself let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding in a long, slow hiss.

It was there. Just barely, but it was there.

"He's alive," the man said, and Navi nearly dropped out of the air with relief. "But his pulse is very weak. Is he breathing?"

Navi flew down close to his mouth and nose and listened. "Just a little, I can hardly hear it," she said. "What are we going to do?"

"Go get Malon. Tell her to find a healer who can be trusted. Get her back here as fast as you can."

"What about Sheik?"

Time was of the essence. "When Malon gets back with a healer, then we'll worry about that. But now you need to hurry! Go!"

_Déjà vu_ followed Navi all the way to the ranch. She remembered, from years ago, so many years ago, flying through the village as fast as she could, to find Saria, so Link would be safe, so he would be taken care of...she remembered trying to find help on that miserable day, and the Deku Tree had helped.

But the Deku Tree was gone now, and the only one who could help Link was her. She _had_ to find Malon.

Navi flew into the open window of Talon's bedroom like a bolt of lightning. He wasn't there, but she searched through the house, yelling as loudly as it was possible for a fairy of her size to yell.

There was no one.

_They're in the barn,_ Navi thought. She was off like a shot, and within seconds Malon was asking her where Link and Sheik were, and what was wrong.

"Link," she choked. "He fell and he might be dying and he needs a healer who can be trusted, _right now_. I flew here from Kakariko as fast as I could...."

Malon's eyes widened. She put two fingers in her mouth and whistled; in almost no time flat, a cream colored horse appeared at her side. She mounted, and put the exhausted Navi on her shoulder. She raced out of the barn to tell Talon, who was in the corral, and without waiting for him took off toward Kakariko Village.

"What about the healer?" Navi asked, as they galloped through the field.

"I don't know any."

Navi groaned.

"Perfect. Hurry, Malon!"

"I am!"

When they got to Kakariko, Sheik was no longer standing at the top of the ledge, and Link wasn't at the trailhead. Malon turned around to look at Navi.

"Was this some kind of joke?"

"I swear, it wasn't, I saw him fall. Why would I joke?"

Malon was distracted just then, by Sheik running up behind her.

"I warped to the Temple of Time," she explained to Navi. "I saw him take Link somewhere...did he say if Link...was alive or not?"

"He's alive. But not by much. Are you sure you didn't see where he took him?"

Malon was very glad they were on the trailhead, because just then, a band of Gerudo women entered the village, wearing the black armbands.

"_Damn it_," Navi hissed, when Malon pointed this out to her.

Sheik stared. Navi didn't even notice.

"I'm pretty sure he must have taken Link to the graveyard, but how are we gonna get past them? Malon's not wanted, and I'm little, but Sheik, you're gonna have a problem."

"Who, exactly, do you mean, when you say 'he'?" Malon asked.

"The guy in the cloak. The one who almost robbed Link when he woke up."

"Oh, _that's_ a comforting thought," Malon said. "Hey, look, there's Dad!"

"Huh?"

Malon waved to her father, stepped out of the trailhead and greeted him like nothing was going on. The Gerudo noticed nothing, they were otherwise engaged; some of the villagers who had been unfortunate enough to be sitting outside on their porches when the Gerudo arrived were made to turn out their pockets. Any valuables were confiscated.

Malon talked to her father very offhandedly, to be sure that they were not noticed. Then she sauntered back up to the trailhead, as if bored.

"He's going to distract them," Malon breathed. "I just hope this works...."

Talon walked casually over to where the Gerudo horses were. He slowly untied all the horses, so that they were free to go, pretending to count his rupees.

He then dropped his wallet, which the Gerudo women did notice, and made a loud scene when they tried to take it from him. The horses all got skittish and ran off.

Talon picked his wallet back up as the Gerudo chased the horses.

Some of the townspeople laughed and cheered; they knew Talon well and congratulated him. They noticed Sheik was with Malon, when she went to the graveyard, but they knew better than to say anything, for then Sheik might get caught. They knew Sheik well enough to know that she was a freedom fighter, an enemy of Ganondorf and an ally of themselves, and they wouldn't let her get caught.

Talon stayed behind, on Malon's orders, in case the Gerudo came back, and Malon, Sheik, and Navi went to the graveyard.

"Hello?" Malon called. The air was still and silent, except for the steady beating of the windmill.

"Behind the hut," answered a gruff voice.

Malon, Sheik, and Navi went towards the source of the voice and found him behind the hut, along with Link, who was lying motionless on the ground.

"You weren't able to find a healer," the man said. It wasn't a question. "He'll need some kind of attention...he's cracked several ribs and broken his right arm. He probably has a concussion."

"Any ideas?" Malon asked.

"Yeah," Sheik said. "Somebody stand watch. I can do a little healing magic. It's not much, but it's better than nothing."

Sheik could not see the man's face, but she had the distinct impression he looked her right in the eyes. "You might get caught. Is it worth the risk?"

She nodded. Malon went to stand watch while Sheik did magic that would mend Link's broken and cracked bones. She couldn't do anything about the concussion, but the man said the best thing for that was bed rest.

"No matter what he says, don't let him out of the bed until a week after he comes around. I think he'll be all right, as long as he makes it through the night. I'll come and check on him whenever I can."

Malon was back to hear this last sentence, and asked, "Who are you?"

"Good luck with that one," Sheik muttered.

"I'll let them tell you," the man said, amusement playing in his voice. "Tie the Goron cloth between two horses and take Link back to the ranch on that. I'll make sure the Gerudo won't get in your way. Don't forget to wrap up his arm."

x x x

It wasn't until after they had gotten Link back to Lon Lon Ranch that Sheik remembered what the man had said to her.

_"You might get caught. Is it worth the risk?"_

Sheik, who was sitting beside Link's bed, froze in place.

_He knows,_ she thought, horror-struck. _But how? I never told anyone but Link and Navi...and he didn't see me do magic except just now. I don't get it...how does he know?_

"Navi," she whispered. The fairy had also been by Link's bed, but had fallen asleep.

"What?" she mumbled groggily.

"I think that man knows where Zelda is."

That woke Navi up in a hurry, and Sheik explained the comment about getting caught.

"But how?" Navi whispered.

"I don't know."

x x x

Malon stood outside the door, listening. She was about to open the door when she heard Sheik talking. She knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but hadn't wanted to interrupt a conversation. She had started to leave, but she had heard the name Zelda.

Zelda, the princess of Hyrule...she could save them all. And that man knew where she was?

Malon kept listening, and as the truth sank in, her eyes widened. Sheik was her best friend, and, out of respect for her privacy, Malon had never asked about her real identity, unless Sheik brought the subject up first. But surely, she couldn't be Zelda, could she?

But it all made sense....

She was with Link, they were trying to save the sages, and she was, as she put it, a Shekiah. But Shekiah had died, all except a few, and Malon was willing to bet that Zelda had learned all about the ancient race from her nursemaid. Everyone knew that Impa was a former leader of the Shekiah, before the Wars, and had taken to protecting the women of the royal family.

Perfect, logical, sense....

And if Impa was the last Shekiah, that meant she had disappeared five years ago with the rest of the sages...so, Impa was a sage! And, five years ago, a boy named Sheik, who Malon found out a year later was actually a girl, had come to the ranch, looking for a place to stay.

Why didn't she see it before?

Malon sighed. Keeping it a secret would be hard to do, but keeping it a secret that she knew would be even harder.

x x x

Link was in for a rough night. Sheik knew he would make it...he had to.

But she also knew he was going to have one hell of a headache when he woke up.

It was almost two in the morning, but Sheik hadn't left Link's room, nor had Navi. She was asleep again.

"C'mon, Link—wake up," she whispered. "I know sometimes I act like you're stupid and I hate you, but you're not and I don't, and we all need you here. If you make it through the night you'll be okay...please, wake up...please, Link...."

Navi opened one eye.

"It's all my fault you were up there in the first place. And you don't even like heights. I'm so sorry...just wake up...please...."

Sheik hesitantly took Link's hand for a minute, but let go abruptly when Navi sat up and spoke.

"Don't blame yourself, Sheik. He'll be fine, I just know it."

"But what if he's not? It'll be my fault."

Malon walked in then, deciding she didn't want to overhear anymore conversations. She had some dinner for Sheik and Navi; neither of them had come downstairs to eat.

They took it gratefully, after once again checking for Link's pulse and breathing.

"How's he doing?" Malon asked. She couldn't bring herself to look at Zelda—no, Sheik. She had to keep thinking of her as Sheik.

"He's okay."

"You're going to make yourself crazy if you keep worrying. I think you need some sleep."

"I can't sleep, Malon."

Malon sighed. "It's not your fault."

"Yes, it is."

"It's not," she said, and before Sheik could argue, she added, "I'm going to bed. G'night...get some sleep, you're gonna need it."

x x x

When Malon woke up the next morning, the first thing she did was to see if Link was okay...if he had made it through the night.

"Sheik?" she asked quietly as she entered the room.

No answer.

Sheik was asleep. Her hand was in Link's. Malon, to spare Sheik a little dignity, took their hands apart, and checked Link.

It took a minute, but she finally got her answer.

x x x

Malon roughly shook Sheik awake.

"It's Link," she hissed.

Sheik opened her eyes slowly. "Huh? What about him?" Fear flooded through her.

"He's okay!"

Sheik shot out of the chair, leaned over Link to check his breathing, let out a cheer that woke up Navi, and hugged Malon.

"What's goin' on?" Navi muttered.

"He made it through the night!"

"Oh!"

Navi, like Sheik, let out a cheer, after checking Link's breathing.

"I'll go tell Dad," Malon said, and she left the room, yelling for Talon.

"Now, we just have to wait for him to wake up," Sheik said.

x x x

It was six long days before Link stirred.

Sheik, of course was there.

Navi had gone into Kakariko with Malon to get some medicines for some of the cuts they had discovered at the back of Link's head. Talon was working in Kakariko, selling his goods.

This was the first time Navi had left Link. Sheik couldn't go with Malon, since she was wanted, and the only other person who knew which kinds of medicines to get was Navi. Sheik had only left to eat and use the bathroom. She still blamed herself for what happened.

The cloaked man had been checking in daily. He never came in the door or knocked, he came in through the window. He wouldn't ever stay long, but it was at least of some comfort to know they had help.

Sheik had said nothing about his earlier comment. she pretended she hadn't noticed. Even though this man seemed an ally, she couldn't just tell him who she really was. If he hadn't known before then, he would know if she asked.

Sheik was holding Link's hand when he woke up.

To him, it was like waking up in the Sacred Realm, only a lot more painful. He realized how bad his head hurt, and, as a reflex, clenched his fists. He realized someone was holding his hand, but he knew it would hurt worse to open his eyes and see who.

Sheik felt him squeeze her hand and she stared at him, not daring to believe it.

Link groaned. Goddesses, his head hurt.

"Link?"

Link groaned again in response.

"Can you hear me?" Sheik stood up.

"I can hear you all right," Link murmured quietly. "Not so loud, please, my head is killing me."

Sheik just stared at him. She knew she must have been dreaming.

"What is it? Am I old? Did I sleep another seven years or something?"

"Seven days. Oh, I'm so sorry you were up there!"

"Up where?" Link asked. He racked his brain and shivered a little. "Oh yeah...."

Link tried to sit up, but the pain was unreal. He swore loudly and let Sheik help him to lay back down.

"What was that?" he asked.

"You cracked almost all your ribs, broke your shield arm—"

"How much more can this arm take, anyway?"

"—and you've got a concussion. Are you hungry?"

"Starving."

Sheik handed him the plate of food that she hadn't touched earlier, because of her worrying. Then she went and got him some water.

It took a long time for him to sit up on the pillows, but when he did, he found it was worth it. He ate all of the food and drank all the water, then asked for more.

Sheik gladly got him some, and while she was downstairs, Navi and Malon came back in. They were surprised to see Sheik had left Link's room.

"He's awake," she said happily. They needed no further explanation.

Malon ran up the stairs. Navi flew after her. Sheik finished getting Link's food, then went up the stairs as well.

"I can't wait till Dad gets home from Kakariko...we've all been so worried," Malon was saying.

"I got your food, Link," Sheik said.

Link stopped talking and ate the food eagerly. He was starving. When he was at last full, he sat back on the pillows and awaited his sentence. "How long till I can move again?"

"A week. At least."

Link groaned again.

"It could be worse. You could be dead."

Link tried and failed to repress a small shiver.

"Do we have anything for headaches? Cause I have one hell of a headache."

Sheik laughed. The exact words she had had in her mind. Malon popped a bottle out of her bag. It had red liquid in it.

"This stuff is disgusting, but it should help the headache."

Link drank a few gulps and made a face. "I'll stick with the head ached."

Malon shrugged, and she and Sheik applied the rest of the liquid to Link's cuts and scrapes. It stung, but he kept his mouth shut.

"So," he asked at last, even though he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know. "What happened? Why'm I not dead?"

Sheik launched into the story of how Navi had gotten help, with Malon and Navi filling in the parts she didn't know. She wanted to tell Link that the man might know her identity, but Malon was with them.

"But how did you know to go to the gravekeeper's hut, Navi? You think that's where he's hiding out?"

"I know it's where he's hiding now...but I didn't know it before."

"Then why'd you go to the—"

"Because he mentioned he was a friend of Damp's! I guessed he would be there. I was just lucky, Link."

_And I know you saw someone in the hut when you went to look at Sam and Alanai's graves,_ she thought to herself. She had been picking up on his thoughts at the time. She had reasoned with herself she needed to make sure he didn't get himself into trouble, but in truth she was nosy and properly ashamed of herself for it. The only thing that eased her guilt was that it may have saved his life.

But it did add another piece of information to this elusive cloaked man's story.

The more Navi thought about it, the more confused she got. They had met him in the Inn, which would have been a more practical hideout, yet he was in Damp's hut. He seemed to be on their side, but would reveal nothing to them. He seemed to know a lot. Like where Johan was, and Sheik's true identity....

And he was the Messenger of the Sages? Where had he learned all those songs from? How did he know all the things he did, and most importantly, who was he? _Who_ was he?

Her mind flew around in circles, getting nowhere fast. It actually made her head hurt.

"Well, I'm glad you're lucky."

Link's voice snapped Navi back to reality.

"Has he been coming here a lot?" Link asked, as eager to know about this man as everyone else.

"Once a day," Sheik said.

"Wow."

"Yeah."

Link grimaced. "I just wish I knew his story...but every time I think about it I get a headache." He groaned again. "And that's without the hundred foot drop."

He sat back on the pillows. "No offense or anything, I know you guys have been waiting for me to wake up, but if it's all the same to you, I really wanna go back to sleep. I'm tired."

"Okay, sure," said Malon. "Calls us when you wake up, if it's not the middle of the night...you have to stay in bed for a week, at least."

"Suits me just fine."

Link fell asleep in five minutes.

x x x

It took Link nearly two months to recover. He had escaped death very narrowly, and, unfortunately, his body wasn't as strong as his will to live.

When the cast on Link's arm came off, he spent his spare time drawing his friends. His took his ribs a long time to heal, longer than his arm, at any rate, so no one would let him help with chores. Under any other circumstances Link would have begged to get out of the work, but now he felt like he was freeloading.

"You are not," Malon said. "You need time to heal."

"I know, I know, I just wish I could be helping to contribute around here."

"Sell your sketches and give us the money," said Malon, laughing. "They're very good."

As much as he hated to admit it, Link knew she was right. So far he had drawn Sheik, Malon, Talon, Epona, Star, the cloaked man, a picture of himself with Navi on his shoulder, and even a picture of what she looked like without the glow, remembering how she looked in Jabu Jabu's stomach.

When he wasn't sketching, Link was on the roof, thinking or talking to his friends.

Sometimes he did both at once. He would sit on the roof of the house or barn and draw the landscape before him, but as he remembered it from years ago, not as it was then. He even drew a picture of Hyrule Castle, and gave it to Sheik for her seventeenth birthday.

He hadn't known it was her birthday until Malon mentioned a surprise party. Link readily agreed. She came in after chores one day to four presents and a homemade cake. It wasn't much, but in these hard times, it meant everything to her. She had to bite down hard on her lip to keep from crying when she got to Link's present. He had added the adult Zelda standing in the field in front of the castle.

Link really wanted to go on to the next temple, but everyone insisted he wait until he was fully healed. One morning at breakfast, however, he put his foot down.

"Which temples have we still got to rescue the sages from?" he asked pointedly.

"The Water Temple, the Shadow Temple, and the Spirit Temple."

Malon bit her lip. She wanted Sheik to find Impa, but she couldn't reveal she knew Impa was a sage. So she remained silent while they decided to tackle the Water Temple next.

"Better than the 'House of the Dead' or Gerudo territory," Link muttered. "So, when do we leave?"

"Sometime next week," Navi said. "You can start doing those chores, to get your body used to moving around."

Link rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever."

By the time the whole gang had finished breakfast, the cloaked stranger who had listened to their conversation was already gone, on his way back to Damp's Hut. He came and left unseen, and now knew where Link, Sheik, and Navi had decided to go next.

He was pleased with their choice. He knew that tackling the Water Temple would break the curse Ganondorf had put over the clouds.

And finally, there would be rain.

But he also knew one of the traps that lay in wait inside the Water Temple. He just hoped Link was strong enough to handle it.

AN: Well we all know what that's going to be...that'll be fun to write about. I can't tell you how much I'd appreciate reviews! Please review me, nice or not, signed or not...constructive criticism is good because it makes the story better!!

Thanks!

—The Gemini Sage


	21. Chapter TwentyFive: Red Ice

Author's Notes: Yes, I lied. It wasn't such a long time till the next chapter. But there's no Water Temple yet.

I tried to check on my spelling a little more this time. Not so sure I did a good job, but oh well. This chapter is a little short, but that's only because I haven't actually...got to the Water Temple yet. I hope you enjoy all the same. Bye!

Chapter Twenty-Five: Red Ice

"Remind me again why I'm here."

Link, Sheik, and Navi were riding their horses towards Zoras Domain. Link, whose idea it had been in the first place, was complaining about everything. Navi took it all good-naturedly, but it was starting to get on Sheik's nerves.

"Well, like you said, Link, better than the House of the Dead or Gerudo territory. Why don't you just...enjoy the scenery? I know you haven't been out in awhile," Sheik said, trying to be tolerant of him. He had been very grouchy lately.

"All right, all right, but _only_ because I haven't been out in awhile," Link grumbled.

Navi figured he was just cranky. His sleep lately had been disturbed. She knew this because he kept waking her up when he was moving around in his sleep, and when he eventually woke up, sweating. She was a bit worried about him, but kept to herself to spare him some dignity.

Link _was_ cranky. Lately, his sleep had been punctured of dreams about falling from great heights. He always woke up, sweating, just before he hit the bottom.

He was also beginning to have a different dream, one that had something to do with rocks. Large ones. He knew it was something that was really going to happen, just like the one he had had seven years ago, about Ganondorf's attack. But this dream was also the same in the sense that the details trickled away, the moment he woke up. It was starting to get on his nerves. He just wanted some sleep, was that too much to ask?

He hadn't told anyone about either of the dreams, especially the nightmares about falling.

_I don't need anyone to explain _that_ to me,_ Link thought darkly.

He knew, based on the experience of the other dream, that as time progressed, he would eventually grasp more details. But last time, it had been luck he hadn't died. What if he didn't figure it out in time? Whose lives were at stake?

"Link, I'm talking to you. Can you hear me?" Navi's voice brought his wandering mind back to earth.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, what'd you say?"

They were now at the edge of the River. They dismounted and began to walk.

Navi, who was sitting on Link's shoulder, sighed, then said patiently, "I asked if you heard that noise a second ago, but I guess I have my answer."

"Oh. Sorry. What kind of noise?"

"Kind of like...breaking glass," Sheik said, sounding doubtful.

Link got a knot in the middle of his stomach. "What are you guys talking about? I was here, remember? There's no glass in...."

No sooner did the words leave his mouth than he walked into the overhang that led to the river and gasped.

Everything was covered in a thick sheet of shining ice. That had been the glass. The breaking sound was coming from a girl who looked like she was trying to break the ice that covered the water flow apart.

She looked about twelve or so, except for her height; her features were older looking, but she would have been a good dance partner for someone who was ten. She had shoulder length curly hair, that was blonde on the top of her head, but changed smoothly to a light brown. Her arms were tanned, as if she spent a lot of time outdoors. She had her hair pulled back into a ponytail, wrapped by a big, navy blue ribbon. She was wearing a baggy tunic, which was also a deep blue, and denim pants that hung loosely to her knees. In one hand was a bucket, in the other was a rock with jagged edges.

The girl looked up and saw them standing there.

"Uh-oh," she muttered, her green eyes widening. Then she took off running.

The girl didn't get very far. In about three seconds, she slipped on the ice and fell. Link went over and tried to help her up, but she jerked away, fear in her eyes.

"I'm sorry! I won't come here again, I promise! !lease don't report me to the Gerudo! They would throw me in the Market—if my mother didn't kill me first." The girl looked close to tears.

"Calm down," said Link, grabbing her arm. "_I'm_ not reporting anyone to the Gerudo."

The girl frowned, took a closer look at him, and gasped.

"Are you...aah, this is going to sound a little crazy, but are you Link?"

Link turned around to look at Sheik. She had stayed behind, just watching the whole scene.

"Here we go again," he said to her, grinning. From his shoulder, Navi tutted. "Yeah, I'm Link. Was it the clothes or the fairy?"

Navi tutted again as the girl dropped the rock she'd been holding.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly, and picked it back up. "I know you're not going to report me to any Gerudo. I didn't mean to be so rude, but you know the rules."

"Actually, I don't. Why are you here?"

"Well, the people in Kakariko—where I live—we get water from here. We break the ice and melt it. Me and my mother and sometimes my brother used to sell it to other people for money. We only charged a little, though, enough to get by. My mother says we all have to stick together in the hard times. But the Gerudo say we aren't to come down here anymore. They used to sell the water for a lot more, to make money. They didn't like us taking away their business. The drought is so rough, though, sometimes people risk coming down here to get some ice. There's no water left in the lake down south."

The girl tucked the rock in her pocket, then held her hand out.

"I'm Kara," she said, as she shook his hand. Then she made a face. "Actually, my first name is Francis. My mother gave it to me. But I like Kara better. It's my middle name, the one my dad gave me."

"The guy back there is Sheik," Link said, motioning for her to come over, "and the ball of light who keeps huffing at us is my fairy Navi."

"Hi," said Kara. "I saw Sheik in Kakariko once, I think. Hey," she added to Link, "Aren't you dead? I saw you fall off of Death Mountain. The Gerudo planted a bomb down at the base so it would shake, when they saw you up there. Then they took off like a bunch of scared rabbits."

"_What?_ Sheik, you hear that?"

"Yeah," she growled, her eyes flashing angrily. Her voice became lower, now that she was in the presence of someone who thought she was male.

"Are you serious?" Navi asked. "They saw Link up there and set off a bomb?"

"Yep," Kara said sadly. "That was dirty of them! Even if I don't _like_ someone, I _respect_ anyone who plays fair. But they never play fair!"

"We thought it was something else," said Link. "But I got out of it okay. They don't scare me."

_Do too,_ said a little voice in the back of his mind. He ignored it.

"So," said Kara, eyeing them warily, "Why you here?"

"We can't exactly tell you that. Here, we'll help you get some ice, then you have to go home. Your mom and dad are probably worried sick about you."

"My mother probably is," said Kara. "My dad wouldn't be, if he was around. He got killed in a big fight when I was five. Mother never talks about him, or the fight. But she says before the fight the Gerudo didn't boss us around. I don't remember that either."

Sheik walked over and started helping to break some of the ice apart. "I'm sorry," she said, and she meant it.

"It's okay. I don't remember him enough to miss him, but I really do wish I had a dad." Her voice grew serious. "But I'm almost twelve now, and I have to start looking out for the family, and my little brother. He's only eight, y'know."

Sheik did the mental math while Link and Kara talked. This girl lost her father seven years ago. Her brother would have only been a year old. And their mother would have had to care for them all on her own.

Link felt a pang when he heard her talk about her father. "I don't remember him enough to miss him, but I really do wish I had a dad," she had said. Link felt the same way about his own parents.

They filled Kara's bucket with as much ice as it would hold, then sent her on her way, warning her not to tell anyone she had seen them except for her family and closest friends. It had started out as telling no one at all, but Kara had beaten them down, telling them that she wanted to spread the hope.

"Bye!" she called as she left. "Good luck with whatever you're doing!"

It took even longer to make the trip up the river than it had last time Link was there. The ice was a deadly obstacle. He and Sheik both kept slipping, sometimes falling. There was no rain in Hyrule, but Ganondorf had obviously allowed the snow to continue here.

The powder, although beautiful, was deadly. It covered slick patches of ice that caused anyone who stepped on them to go sliding away. Link had never experienced heavy snow or ice like this, but after getting over the shock, he decided he didn't like it at all. It was too slick, and dangerous.

All that could be heard was the occasionally tree branch cracking, or the snow falling softly to the ground. It was a more than bit eerie. The atmosphere made Link want to talk, because it was far too quiet. As long as he kept talking and kept moving, he was fine. The cold kept threatening to creep into his arms and legs, but Link pushed forward, more to keep warm than anything else.

Link stopped at the place where he had met the river frogs, seven years before.

"Why'd you stop?" Sheik asked.

"Remember those frogs I told you about?" Link asked.

Sheik nodded. Link, of course, had given her a detailed account of what he'd done to get the Spiritual Stones when he had been confined to bed. He had only left out the part about the dream. She in turn had told him about the cloaked man's comment, the one that made it seem like he knew who she was.

They had talked quite a bit while Link was recovering. He had told her, in a little more detail, about what had happened to his parents, about some of the tricks he had gotten away with when he was younger, and about some of the things he'd done in the Lost Woods. She had found that she enjoyed talking to him, and in the two months that it took Link recover, they had gotten to know each other a lot better, and they were each a lot more tolerant of the other.

"You think they're still here?" Link asked.

Sheik shook her head sadly. "Magic or not, they can't still be alive. Link, look at this place. It's a disaster. I think they're pretty much gone."

"Think again, princess!" croaked a voice from somewhere above them.

Sheik's stance changed instantly. Her hands, which had been hanging loosely by her sides in a relaxed manner, now curled into fists. Her arms drew up to her sides in a fighting position, her jaw clenched, and her face flushed. Link could see anger and fear burning in her eyes.

"Who said that?" she growled.

"Up here...."

Link looked behind them and jumped; a white frog was sitting on top of an equally white chunk of ice, that had to be at least fifteen feet tall.

"Don't _ever_ call me that again!" Sheik snarled, her voice shaking with anger. "I'm no princess."

"My apologies, Zelda. Don't look so frightened, I wouldn't tell anyone who you are. My companions are indeed gone."

"They died?" Navi asked softly.

"Oh, no. River frogs like ourselves can't die. They fled."

"To where?"

"A place very far away. They left years ago, when the river first froze over. I did not join them. I was waiting on _you_, Link."

"You're kidding," said Link. "Why?"

"Because there is a deadly obstacle ahead, and only I have the power to get you past it. Tell me, do you have a bottle to store things in?"

"No, sorry."

"Then I shall accompany you, if my attendance is not unwanted," the frog insisted politely.

"We don't mind," said Navi. "But what's ahead, that's deadly? Other than more ice?"

"Ice," said the frog, hopping into Link's outstretched hands. "Red ice."

Link didn't get anywhere asking questions, so eventually the conversation turned to what Zora's Domain looked like. Link was worried by the time they reached the waterfall, but he kept the conversation going so his mind wouldn't have time to wander.

When they did reach the waterfall, however, they were shocked to find it was no longer a waterfall. It was frozen in place, turned to ice. Red ice.

"Holy sh—"

Link's words were cut off by Navi, who tutted loud enough to drown them out. "Link, you really shouldn't swear...it's a terrible habit."

"Ah, c'mon, it's not like you don't!"

"I don't!"

"You do t—"

"I believe," said the frog loudly, "that I can remove the red ice. Be warned; if you touch this ice it will burn your skin away. It is like fire. Please stand back."

The frog jumped out of Link's hands and leapt onto the red ice. He hopped all around it, his feet sticking to wherever he landed. Everywhere he his feet touched the ice, it began to melt, until the frog, job complete, landed back in Link's hands.

"Cool," said Link. "Thanks."

"You are quite welcome," the frog said politely. "I now take my leave; I wish to see my friends again very badly. I advise you not to stay in the Zora's Domain for long. It is a dreadful sight. Farwell, friends."

With that, the frog leapt out of Link's hands, back down the river, and out of sight.

"Bye!" Navi called. Then she said, "I hope it doesn't look like everything else. I forgot there was ice down here."

"I didn't even know there was ice here," said Sheik. "It must have happened before."

Link knew that by "before," she meant before her and Impa ha gotten separated. She wouldn't tell him exactly how it happened, and had only talked about her first night without Impa once.

When Link had pestered her about it, she shoved him into the barn—with the cows.

"We'll have to jump across," said Link. "I'll go first."

He took a short running start, and landed safely on in the opening before them. Sheik followed, and Navi flew in behind them.

They all walked through the dark tunnel in silence, anticipating what they were going to find. Link's pulse quickened with every step he took. He knew without a doubt, that all the Zoras within the Zora's Domain were dead. If any had survived, they had fled....

They walked into Zora's Domain all at the same time. Link swore loudly when he saw the sight within.

Zora's Domain had been frozen in time by the ice. A layer of white ice covered the water, but Link could make out the shapes of Zoras, utterly still. The shapes looked like they had been beating against the ice, even as they died. He considered himself lucky he couldn't see them any better. The thought of what they looked like made him shudder.

The waterfall here was also frozen, but by normal ice. Link saw with horror a few Zoras that hadn't been in the water at the time. They were frozen solid, like statues, their eyes wide open and panicked. Link felt like they were staring at him.

Link shuddered, not bothering to try and suppress it. Sheik was trembling, and Link could feel Navi quivering on his shoulder.

Silently, they walked further in. Link lead the way up to the King's chamber, dreading what he might see. He told Navi to stay with Sheik while he looked inside.

Link walked in the King's chamber slowly, his heart pounding in his throat.

He let out a strangled cry and backed away, not able to take his eyes off of the horrible sight. Then his senses came back to him, and he turned and ran back down the stairs.

King Zora had been covered in red ice. His smooth scales had shriveled up and burnt black, and his fine red cape had turned to ash. His eyes had been burned out of their sockets, and the way those empty sockets had stared at Link made him want to throw up everything he'd ever eaten.

He was never going back in there, ever, and he wanted to get out of Zora's Domain as fast as possible, without Sheik or Navi seeing the corpse.

"What is it, Link?" Navi asked worriedly when he reached the bottom of the stairs.

Link couldn't answer. Words escaped him. He just shook his head, but the look in his eyes made Sheik repress a shiver.

She started toward the stairs, but Link grabbed her arm. "Don't," he managed to say. He was as white as a sheet. "Trust me, don't. Let's just get out of here. Now."

"I can handle it," she said, as if trying to convince herself. Her curiosity won out and she went up the stairs. Link followed her for three steps, trying to get her to come back, but he was afraid to go any further.

Navi, at least, took flight from her shoulder and settled back onto Link's. Link was one of the bravest people she knew, and if it made him react the way he did, she didn't want to see it.

Sheik yelled from somewhere above them and Link winced. A second later, she half tripped over herself, in her rush to get back down the stairs.

Her breathing ragged, Sheik said, "You were right. Let's get out of here."

The last time Sheik had seen a corpse that looked like that, she had been ten years old, riding on the back of a white mare named Star. She had never wanted to see another one again.

It wasn't until they were at the place where they had met Kara until Link said, "I tried to tell you. Maybe next time you'll listen."

Sheik just nodded. She couldn't say anything.

"Sorry I didn't catch you before you went in there," said a muffled voice from behind them. "I didn't know you were coming this way."

"Huh?" Link whirled around. Behind him was the cloaked man.

"I had thought you'd go to Lake Hylia, but you came here instead. I'm really sorry you had to see that. By the time I realized where you were, I was too late to head you off. I just got here. Are you all right?"

"F-fine," said Sheik. "We're fine."

"I have something for you." The man withdrew from his cloak two thick strips of blue cloth. "This is the last cloth in Hyrule that allows a person to breathe underwater. Some Gerudo women in Kakariko stole four or five of these from a townsfolk, and I stole them back, kept two of them. I figure you two will need it more. Just put it on so it covers your mouth and nose, and you can stay underwater as long as you want."

"How?" Link asked, walking forward and taking the strips of cloth from the man.

The man shrugged. "I don't know. But I've tried it. It works."

Link tossed a strip of cloth to Sheik. "Thanks."

"You'll need to come to Lake Hylia," the cloaked man said. "I'm about to play the Serenade of Water, listen carefully."

The man took out an ivory ocarina with gold designs painted on it. Link vaguely recognized from Death Mountain. The man played a slow song on it and disappeared in a flash of blue light.

Link made sure Sheik got it right before he followed.

He had never been to Lake Hylia. But Link knew that the way the lake looked now was nothing like what it should have been. There was no water in it; it was a muddy mess. Vultures and crows flew around, eating remains of dead fish and Zora skeletons. Link felt like he was going to be sick again. The burnt corpse flashed through his mind.

"Just before Ganon destroyed the Gorons," the cloaked man said, "He froze over Zora's Domain. All the Zoras died. Except one. The Water Sage. I've spoken to Princess Ruto since she found out she was a sage. She's not doing very well. She saw what you did, back at Zora's Domain. Keep in mind, that was her father."

The man sighed. "You must both promise me you're going to be very careful in the temple."

Link frowned. "Why? What's in there?"

"Just promise."

"Okay, we promise," Link said, shooting a glance at Sheik. She nodded.

Navi looked around at the lake. "This place is a mess."

While everyone turned to look with her, the cloaked man crept away, unseen. When Link turned around to ask him how to get into the Water Temple, he was gone.

AN: Well, that seemed kind of pointless to me. But I hope you guys liked it. Please review me and tell me if my spelling got any betetr and/or if the chap seemed too pointless.   
  
::anime sweatdrop:: NOW I can tell the truth when I say it'll be awhile till the next chap...wish me and the muses luck with the water temple, and don't forget to reveiw!  
  
Bye, and thanks!  
  
—The Gemini Sage 


	22. Chapter TwentySix: Dancing in the Rain

Author's Notes: Whew! That was the second hardest chapter I ever had to write. (The hardest was in Jabu Jabu's belly.) Anyway, I hope you like it, I tried to give you a long one with a plot to make up for the last two pointless ones. It's my birthday present to me. (I'll be fifteen in three days! Yes!!) Anyway, I hope you like the chapter.

Chapter Twenty-Six: Dancing in the Rain

"Well, aren't we lucky?" Link asked sarcastically. "How _do_ we get into the temple?"

Sheik shrugged.

"It's gotta be somewhere around here...."

"Try looking underwater," Navi said, amused.

"Navi?"

"Yes, Link?"

"There _is_ no water."

Navi sighed. "Look where it used to be. Down here," she said, taking flight from his shoulder.

Link watched her as she flew down to the bottom of the empty lake.

"Yeah," she called, "I see it. Be careful on your way down, it's really muddy."

Link and Sheik carefully slid down the edge of the small island they had been standing on. When they got to the bottom, they saw an opening on the bottom of the lake floor. It was easily big enough for a person to get through. Link climbed in first and helped Sheik down; Navi followed behind them.

They ended up in small tunnel, and through the end of it, they could see the Water Temple.

The inside of the temple looked elegant. The walls were plated with marble, which was gleaming as white as the ice in Zora's River. A huge square pillar rose up from the middle of the sandy floor, going all the way to the ceiling, which was jagged, yet in some sense, beautiful. The sheer elegance of it took them all by surprise. Sheik had always known Zoras to have fine tastes, but this was spectacular. The first Water Sage must have labored for years, hollowing out the ground and putting something like this in.

And filling it with water again.

For they were looking through this spectacular sight through a kind of window. Before them was a blank rock face, with a wide opening in it, covered by blue stained glass. The glass was nothing more than an everlasting pattern that was supposed to resemble water, but it made everything all the more beautiful. In between the place where they had come down from the lake floor and the place where the stained glass was, there was a small pool of water. Link guessed it must have been the entrance.

"Wow," said Link after a second. "This is pretty fancy. Fit for royal—uh oh."

"What?" asked Navi.

"Ruto is the Water Sage. You remember Ruto, don't you?"

Navi took flight from Link's shoulder and started giggling. "Yes."

"What's so bad about that?" Sheik asked, not understanding. For all the things Link had told her in his recovery, he had never mentioned the Zora princess had a crush on him.

"Well," Link began, looking awkward. He was cut off by Navi's laughter. He waited for it to die down, then said, "She sort of wanted to...aah, how can I say this...she wanted to marry me. Since the Zora's Sapphire is like the engagement ring, for Zora royalty."

Sheik raised an eyebrow, trying her best not to laugh. "But you were ten years old."

"Ruto, ah, she's very...decisive."

Navi burst into another fit of giggles. Link was turning red.

"How'd you get out of it?" Sheik asked.

"Well, Navi talked her out of...hey, wait a sec! Navi, you told her I was Kokiri! When you knew I wasn't!" Link glared at Navi for about two seconds, watching her giggle, then burst out laughing.

"You saved my life, thanks," he said. "I mean, Ruto is very nice and everything, but...."

Sheik laughed too. She realized then how little she heard Link laugh. He joked, made fun, snickered, and generally seemed very cheerful, but she had rarely heard him truly laugh.

"We have to swim in, don't we?" Link asked. He looked extremely unenthusiastic about the idea..

"What did you expect?" said Navi. "It's the _Water_ Temple."

"Uh oh, Navi, how're you going to make it down there? I mean, how long can you hold your breath?"

"I don't need to hold my breath. I learned a trick while you were sleeping that allows me to breathe underwater." By the word "sleeping," of course, she meant in the Sacred Realm.

"Wow," Link and Sheik said, in unison.

"Yeah. I'll be fine, let's go."

Link and Sheik tied the strips of cloth around their faces—Sheik put hers under her mask—and entered the pool of water. Link went first, and made quite a fuss doing so.

"Damn, this water is _cold_. I'm not going in there."

"Oh yes you are," said Sheik, and she pushed him in.

This took Link by surprise, and he gasped for air before he remembered that he was underwater. To his surprise, however, the air came. He was breathing.

"Wow," said Navi, when they were all underwater. "Those things work?"

Link nodded.

"Can you talk?"

Link shrugged. He tried to speak, but his voice became distorted in the stream of bubbles that came from his mouth.

_Oh well,_ he thought at Navi.

She grinned. She'd forget he could do that, every once in awhile.

_Ask Sheik where we're going_, Link thought at Navi.

"Link wants to know where we're going," Navi said obediently.

Sheik shrugged, then pointed down. Link nodded and swam down, and she followed. It wasn't long before they reached the bottom.

_We'll _never_ get anything done,_ Link thought, _with all this water here._

_I know,_ Navi thought back, _but there's nothing we can do about it._

After finding a small door at the bottom of the temple, and debating in crude sign language who was going in it first, (Sheik won the argument—Link went first) Link and Sheik found themselves in a room with a barred door and some torches that looked as if they hadn't been used in centuries. The room had a high ceiling, and, Link could see, it was high enough so that there was an end to the water. Link pointed up eagerly, and began to swim upwards. Sheik and Navi followed.

Link's head burst out of the surface of the water, and Sheik's shortly followed. Link pulled off the strip of cloth and looked around.

He was in another pool of water. Around him was a stone room. It wasn't very big, and it was very crowded. Because in addition to Sheik, Link, and Navi, there were about a dozen keese and one very flustered Zora in the room.

"That's Ruto," Link said. He didn't like her very much, but he got out of the water and helped Sheik get rid of the pesky bats anyway.

"You okay?" Sheik asked, when the bats were gone.

"Yes," said Ruto. "Who are you?"

Link prayed silently that she wouldn't recognize him—but—

"Link? Is that you?"

"Yeah," Link said, swearing silently. Navi tried not to giggle when Ruto ran into Link, hugging him hard. Link's eyes went wide, and he tried to push Ruto off.

"Aah, Ruto—you're strangling me," Link choked. Then he mouthed to Sheik, "Get her off of me!"

Sheik bit back a smirk, but she pulled Ruto off of Link before he suffocated.

Ruto glared at Sheik. "What's your problem? I missed him!"

"You were choking him to death," said Sheik, deciding she didn't like the Zora very much.

Ruto huffed and turned back to Link. "Just where have you been all these years anyway?"

Link rolled his eyes. "I was—"

"Don't make excuses!" Ruto marched up to Link, one webbed hand on her hip. "You never showed your face again after you rescued me! Then to _lie_, and tell me you were a Kokiri!"

"Look, I didn't—"

Ruto actually drew back her hand and slapped Link. "That's what you get for making me worry!" she said.

Link almost hit her back. Even Sheik could see it was taking all of his self control not to turn her into seafood. She remembered slapping him when he called her a princess, unable to control her temper. Of course, she hadn't known him as well then, but even so...he at least had done something to make her upset. Ruto was just slapping him for no reason. Everyone had been worried about Link when he was gone, but none of _them_ had slapped him when he got back.

Sheik decided she didn't like Ruto at _all_, and both she and Navi jumped to defend Link.

"You're the one who has a problem," said Sheik. "Lay off."

"Don't slap him like that!" Navi buzzed angrily. "He didn't do anything to you!"

Ruto huffed. "How did you get in here, anyway?"

"We _swam_," Link said.

"Ohh, you must have some Zora cloth."

"Yeah, we do," said Navi. "Problem?"

"Why don't you just get out of here?" Ruto said. "Just go. I never want to see any of you again."

"Do you have the Water Medallion?" Sheik asked.

"Forget about it. No one can save Hyrule now."

"We can, if you'll give us the medallion that you have in your left hand," Navi said quietly.

Ruto had slapped Link with her right hand, but she had been talking with her left hand on her hip. Navi saw the glimmer of blue and knew Ruto had the medallion.

"It's mine," Ruto snarled. "Leave it alone. Forget saving Hyrule," she said, her voice a venomous hiss.

Link and Sheik exchanged a glance. Something was not right.

"What's the matter with you, anyway?" Link asked. But apparently, this was the wrong thing to say.

Ruto gripped the medallion tightly, and Link saw something funny happen to her eyes. They turned red. Link swore loudly and backed away, pulling Sheik with him.

"This is mine," said a low, gravelly voice that came from Ruto. "You stay away from this or pay the price...."

Ruto turned solid black, and her shape became distorted. Except for two red pinpricks of light, that used to be her eyes. Link knew that this creature wasn't Ruto, but had been pretending, and that they were in deep trouble.

The black creature snarled at them, and rushed toward Link. He dived out of the way just in time, and the creature went into the water with a huge splash, drenching the already wet Link, Sheik, and Navi.

"What the hell was that?" Link yelped. "It slapped me! Do you think it _was_ Ruto?"

Navi shook her head, deciding to let his language slide by, since, after all, it had slapped him. "It knew everything she did, though. Everything. It obviously remembered every word of the conversation we had after we rescued the _real_ Ruto. It was also a _very_ good actor."

"But how?" Sheik asked. "I know about a lot of pretty weird things, but I've never even heard of something like this."

"I guess we'll just have to be careful," Link said, a dark expression in his blue eyes. "Really careful. That _thing_ could pretend to be anyone we know, or any of us—even me."

x x x

After exploring the room where they met the shadow, Link discovered a small switch behind the fake stone paneling on the wall. When he pressed it—against Sheik's protests and Navi's better judgment—it had emptied the temple of most of the water.

"See?" Link said. "It was a great idea."

"Yeah, wise guy," Navi retorted, "But how do we get back down? Without killing ourselves, that is. There's three stories below us!"

This turned out not to be a big of a problem as Navi imagined. Link looked around the room for more paneling, assisted by Sheik, and found another switch that caused a ladder to drop from the ceiling.

"Funny," commented Sheik. "I didn't see that there before, did you?"

"Who cares, it's a safe way down, ain't it?" Link said, climbing down the ladder. Sheik followed him.

"Isn't," corrected Navi, fluttered down to Link's shoulder.

"Isn't ain't a word," Sheik said, grinning beneath her mask. Link snickered.

The trio discovered something odd when they got down the ladder. The torches, that had looked as old as Rauru, perhaps older, were now crackling merrily, as if they had burning for hours. At least, one of them was. The two by the door were bone dry, but unlit.

"Wow, how puzzling," Navi commented dryly. "Think we should light the torches?"

"Yeah," said Link. "But with what?"

"Wow, how puzzling," Sheik quipped. "You've got _wooden_ arrows, Link."

"Oh yeah. Sorry, I forgot," he added good-naturedly.

Sheik expected him to light an arrow and carry it to each torch, but he decided to show off a bit, and shot the arrow through the torch in the middle of the room, lighting the ones beside the door easily. He did not miss.

"Wow," Navi said again. "Cool."

The bars on the door slowly went upwards, leaving the path clear.

"Don't look at me like that," Link said. "I went first last time, and nearly got killed by a shadow thing."

Link repressed a small shudder as he said it. That thing wasn't _right_.

"All right, you coward, I'll go first," Sheik said, causing Link to move in front of her and go before she did.

_It works every time,_ she thought, amused.

In the room, there were a number of very large clam shells, lying motionless on the ground. Link had never seen a shell before, and was fascinated. His fascination died, however, when he touched a shell. It began to move, and, eventually, attack him. Soon, all the other shells joined in.

They had sharp edges, and the only way to attack them was to wait for the clams to open, and attack the creatures inside. It wasn't long before they were all gone, and when they were, Link and Sheik both sighed with relief. It wasn't long, however, before they noticed a shiny key on the ground. Link pocketed it, and finding the room to be a dead end, they turned around and exited the room.

They explored the Temple further, searching for the shadow creature, for they knew it had the medallion. It wasn't until they got to the geyser room that they met up with it again.

The geyser room was indeed a strange thing. There was a gaping hole, about ten feet deep, in the middle of the room. The ledge on their side was rough, and the trio was able to climb down into the hole. However, the wall on the other side was smooth until about half way up, where it was covered in vines.

"I'm not climbing any more vines," Link said immediately. "Last time they gave me some kinda rash on my hands."

"You're being stupid," Sheik said, not taking him seriously. "You won't get a rash, I promise."

"Well, all right, but tell me, _genius_, how're we gonna get up there?"

"See that switch on the roof?"

"Yeah," Link said. "Navi, can you push it for us? I wanna see what it does."

"Sure," said Navi. She flew up and pushed the switch, and the floor in the hole began to crack. Link and Sheik backed away. Then, a tower of water burst from it, leading up to the place where the vines were, but it died down after about sixty seconds.

It took a little doing, but finally Link convinced Sheik the ride would be perfectly harmless, and they rode the geyser up to the vines. Link let Sheik get off and climb first; he jumped off just as the geyser died down again.

Just as Link was climbing over the ledge and onto the other side, the creature appeared and attacked. It came from out of nowhere, like a ghost. It knocked Link down, but out of fear he grabbed the edge of the ledge, and held on, rather than letting himself fall an almost harmless ten feet. In the time it took for him to get over the ledge, the creature attacked again, leaving a long cut—on his shield arm.

It then vanished back into the darkness of nothing.

"Link, are you okay?" Navi asked.

"Yeah. Fine. My arm isn't, though. Why do they always go for the shield arm?"

"Better than your sword arm," Sheik pointed out.

In the end, Link had to stop the bleeding by holding his wound against him for about ten minutes. It wasn't bandaged, but it was the best he could do.

"Well, now that we're here, we may as well finish it," Link said, knowing they were both going to fuss over his arm.

His arm hurt, but if he even gritted his teeth, Navi would suggest he go back to Lon Lon Ranch. Since his fall from Death Mountain, she had become far too worried about him. Link guessed it meant that she cared, which was good to know, but he was seventeen now, and he wanted to learn to take care of himself, since there was no way to undo it. If there _had_ been a way to undo it—well, he would have leaped at the chance. But he couldn't have his old life back, so he was determined to getting used to the one he had.

And saving Hyrule, of course.

They ventured around the temple and did several more rooms, each time gaining keys in order to access new rooms. Link wasn't so keen on meeting the shadow creature anymore, or the real Ruto, but Sheik and Navi insisted they find both of them, so he explored along with everyone else.

They came to a room with a gaping hole in the middle, much like the geyser room. However, this room was much bigger than the geyser room, and running down both sides of the hole were gigantic waterfalls. What was more, they could see Ruto on the other side.

She saw them too. The first thing she said when she saw them convinced them that she was the real thing.

"There's two of me running around here, be careful!" she yelled over the roaring of the two waterfalls.

"How did you get over there?" Link yelled back.

"I'm a Zora! I swam!"

Link swore. He could see wooden platforms jutting out from both waterfalls, but he couldn't climb them, that would be insane. But maybe—

"Heeeey," Link said. "You guys, you think I could use the hookshot to climb those platforms?"

"I knew he would lose it eventually," Sheik said to Navi.

"Shut up, I could and you know it."

"If you say so."

It turned out not to be as hard as it looked. Every time Link would hookshot to the edge of the platform, he would grab the edge and climb his way up, then toss the hookshot down to Sheik. They were up on the other side in about ten minutes.

"Hi," said Ruto. "You've seen the other me, haven't you? It's got the Water Medallion."

"We saw it," Link said carefully.

"That must be why you're acting funny," Ruto pressed.

"Yeah, well," Sheik said. "The other you slapped Link."

"Oh, wow, I'm sorry," Ruto said. "I _almost_ want to slap him. He's had me worried. I swam up here a couple of hours ago, but I can't get back. I think the door over there leads back to the entrance, though."

She pointed to one of three doors. They went in, and it did indeed have a long winding tunnel that lead to the bottom of the sandy floor.

When they got there, Sheik said, "I've had enough of this. We're going to get that medallion. Link, you'n Navi go that way and I'll go this way and we'll find the shadow thing. Ruto, you wait here in case somebody come back with the medallion. Okay?"

"Sure," said Link. "Yell if you find something."

And so, they searched. For almost an hour, they searched the temple top to bottom, side to side. Link and Navi found nothing, so they went back to wait on Sheik with Ruto.

Sheik, however, was very busy.

She had been looking around in a room that was covered in about two inches of water when she spotted a figure standing by the door. A closer look told her the figure was Link. However, Navi wasn't with him.

"Hey, Link! You find anything yet?"

Link jumped and turned around. "What?" he asked.

"Did you find the medallion? And where in the world is Navi?"

"I didn't find the medallion," Link said. He searched the memories of the Hero of Time. Who was this person? Ahh, Sheik. And she was really _Zelda_, staying at Lon Lon Ranch. Well, his master would be pleased to know _that_....

"You look so tired," Link said. "Maybe you should go back to the ranch, and look for the medallion later. I'll stay here."

Sheik gave him funny look.

"Are you okay? Normally you don't care if we're tired or not."

There were two doors in the room. Link walked through one casually and Sheik followed. Now they were in another room that was covered with water about three inches deep. In the middle was a sandy island with a small tree on it, an miniature imitation of the island they were currently under.

Then she saw something that made her blood run cold. In Link's left hand, the one that was supposed to be wounded and wasn't, there was a shiny blue medallion. She knew at once what was going on and she felt very afraid.

This was the dark version of Link, the shadow creature. It had all of is memories, and that meant it knew who she really was. And the chances were, it was working for Ganondorf....

"Where's Navi?" she asked, trying to keep the fear out of her voice.

"I...lost her. I was looking for her when you showed up."

"Didn't seem like you were looking to me. Why don't I find her for you? Just give me that medallion and I'll be on my way."

She knew immediately that this was the wrong thing to say. Dark Link drew back the hand with the medallion in it and hit her. She felt the impact of his fist on her jaw and was knocked backwards, but she was on her feet again almost at once. She drew out her claws, and aimed a blow at his face, but he pulled out his sword, which was made of shadows, and blocked her attack.

"All I need is your blood," he said, aiming another blow at her. "Then I can pretend to be you, too."

She dodged his blow and aimed another at him, but it was difficult. She had grown to care a lot about Link; he was one of her closest friends. And though she knew this person wasn't Link, it was difficult to fight someone who looked for all the world just like him.

It was even more difficult to fight someone with his abilities. She was losing, and she knew it. He knocked her backward again and raised his sword, a shadowy imitation of the blade of evil's bane.

"Well, goodbye, princess," he said, cracking an evil smile.

x x x

"He should have been back by now," Link said to Navi and Ruto. "He's taking forever."

His tone of voice was worried. He paced back and forth.

"Sheik'll be here any minute now," Ruto said, trying to make him stop worrying.

Link glanced at Navi, and his look told her all she needed to know. He was having the feeling again. Something bad was happening.

"I'm going to go look for her—I mean, him. Ruto, stay here, in case he comes back, okay?" Link

"I'm getting tired of waiting, but okay."

"Navi," Link said, but Navi cut him off.

"Don't you dare tell me to wait here. I want to go with you."

Link considered it a minute. Navi was good to have around if someone was in trouble. She was a fast flier and could get help. But who needed her the most, himself or Ruto?

"Link," said Navi. "That shadow thing could be out there. I want to go with you!"

"Okay, okay," said Link. "But stay close, and be careful."

"Of course."

They searched the direction Sheik went, for a long time. It wasn't until they got to the room where Sheik had met up with Dark Link until Link spoke.

"They went through one of those doors."

"They?"

"Yeah. She met up with it and it pretended to be one of us, maybe. She might not even know...."

"Which one? You know bars will probably come down after us, whichever room we choose. We can't afford to be wrong."

Link bit his lip. He had that awful feeling....

Then they heard a sinister voice, sinister, yet familiar, all the same.

"All I need is your blood. Then I can pretend to be you, too."

Link gasped. He knew that voice! It was his own! How clearly he remembered hearing it in the Sacred Realm, wondering why it had sounded so unlike his own. He had to figure out which door that voice was coming from. Fast.

A yell, and a dull thud.

Link, deeply concerned for Sheik's safety, yanked open the door on the right. He didn't know how he knew, but he did. He just knew.

There was Sheik, lying on the floor.

Standing above her, holding a shadowy sword, a cheap imitation of Link's own, was Link. Or what looked like Link.

Every strand of Dark Link's hair, every wrinkle in his clothes, every small cut or bruise, was just like Link's. Except, of course, the sword. And the wound on Link's arm.

If there was ever a time when Link wanted to drop his sword from shock, it was just then. He had known...but still, it was so unnerving. Link watched Dark Link knock Sheik to the ground, unable to move. Sheik winced, waiting for the final blow.

"Well, goodbye, princess," Dark Link said, raising the sword. Then he glanced at the doorway.

A smile passed over his face.

_My face,_ thought Link. _Not his. It was mine first._

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Link," said Dark Link. Link never knew his own voice could sound so spine-chilling.

Sheik shot up when she realized that Dark Link had been distracted from her, and Navi flew over to see if she was okay. She wasn't. She looked like she had gone through a tornado. She had a black eye, her jaw was bruised, and she sported several large cuts.

"Oh my Goddesses," Sheik said, seeing two Links before her.

Dark Link caught her movements, and with a snap of his fingers, the tile above her began to crumble away, and a whirl of shadow surrounded her, coming from the ceiling. It was a lot like the shadow that had surrounded Darunia as he watched his son die.

Navi and Sheik banged against the walls of the shadow, but it was no use. Link had to fight himself alone.

"You know," said Dark Link, "I don't think this will take very long. After all, I own your memories. All of them. Even the ones that time has erased within you. I remember everything that has ever happened to you. I know what your emotions are. But I don't feel the pathetic emotions that you do, so I can make sense of them, understand them."

Link was still rooted to the spot. Then he forced himself to speak.

"What are you?" he asked.

"I am you. I have your blood, so I know everything about you, and I match your strengths and weaknesses. But your weaknesses, Link, are your emotions," Dark Link hissed. "And I don't feel emotions. I am superior."

"You're not," said Link, angry. He had seen Sheik, and what this thing had done to her. He felt like it was his fault, for some reason, even though it wasn't.

_But it was. If I had just let go when that thing came at you, it wouldn't have got to you. But I was too afraid—_

Link drew his sword. He shot a blow at Dark Link from above, which Dark Link countered easily. But the counter attack missed, and Link tried again. On and on it went, the two fighting, as equals, and Sheik could see that one wouldn't win over the other.

The shadow was draining her energy. Navi, who was a fairy, and had much more stamina, was not yet being affect, but Sheik had started feeling weak, especially after her beating. It wasn't long in her prison before she sank to her knees, unable to stand, and her disguise flickered away.

A few more minutes, and Zelda was unconscious.

The fight was still going strong, and When Link risked a worried glance at Navi and Zelda, he received a long cut on his shield arm. He winced and turned back to the battle.

Dark Link had been right; he matched every one of Link's strengths. The battle went on, furious. And the whole time, Dark Link was taunting Link. Taunting him, with his own memories....

"I know everything about you. I know what happened to your parents. They died saving you. Ganondorf killed them, and he enjoyed every minute of it. It's your fault they died. They wouldn't have, if you hadn't been around. You killed them, Link!"

Link tried not to listen or even think about it. That had been a private worry of his, and Dark Link had just exposed it. Dark Link made him feel guilty for every bad thing that had ever happened to anyone. He got inside Link's head, searching, the things he exposed becoming more and more private.

"You cannot win against me," he hissed. "I know everything. I know what you're scared of, I know what you hate. Did you have fun falling off of Death Mountain, Link? Or do the nightmares still scare you?"

"Leave me alone," Link said, swinging his sword again.

"I know everything," Dark Link repeated. "I even know how you _really_ feel about—"

Link cut him off by pushing him backwards. That was it. No more. He couldn't take any more. His anger fueled him, and he delivered several long scrapes to Dark Link. Link wasn't going to let Dark Link hurt his friends. He'd win, no matter what it took. Otherwise it would become one of his other friends, and they didn't deserve this. They didn't deserve to have their memories, thoughts, and feelings explored by a stranger.

Dark Link was now bleeding rather badly. Link let his emotions take hold of the sword and he drove it into Dark Link's arm—not his chest. Link couldn't kill him. Link didn't want to kill anyone.

Dark Link burst into blue fire, an and agonized scream cut through the air. Link shuddered. He stood there until the shadow barrier had melted away, and Dark Link had become a pile of ashes. Link looked white as chalk when Navi flew over to him.

"Are you okay?" she asked. She had not been unconscious, and had heard every word of Dark Link's taunts.

"Yeah," Link said automatically. "He was right. I have emotions. He doesn't." He reached down into the large pile of ashes and pulled out the Water Medallion, then went to check on Zelda.

"Sheik, wake up," he said, shaking her. She was Zelda now, but he was so used to calling her Sheik it slipped out.

"Huh? What happened?"

Link let his breath out in a long, slow hiss. She was okay.

"You need to change back," he said quietly. "Then we can get out of here."

"Okay," she said, sitting up. Link helped her to her feet, then she turned back into Sheik.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I feel like you look. Did he hurt you?"

Sheik winced. "A little."

Link felt overwhelming guilt. He hadn't hurt Sheik, why did he feel like it was his fault?

She seemed to know what he was thinking, though. "Don't worry, I don't blame you. It wasn't your fault. I should've ran when I figured it out. Have you got the medallion?"

Link nodded.

"Then let's get out of here," Navi said.

Sheik had sprained her left ankle, and Link had to help her walk back to where Ruto was waiting. Ruto gasped when she saw them.

"You both look like hell," she said sympathetically. "What happened?"

"We met up with that shadow thing," Link said. "But I got rid of it. I got the medallion, here." Link tossed it to her. "Can you heal Sheik's ankle?" he asked.

"Yes," Ruto said. "Hold still, Sheik. Heal," she added, much like Saria had when she healed herself and Link. "There you go."

Sheik tested her weight on her ankle, and discovered it to be as good as new. The rest of her injuries were gone.

Ruto warped back to the Sacred Realm, kicking the medallion to them at the last minute. As she left, she called, "I love you, Link!"

Link rolled his eyes after she had gone. "I dunno what I'm going to do with her," he said. Sheik snickered.

"Let's get out of here," Navi said.

They climbed out of the Water Temple, muddy, but unhurt. He saw them from the top of the tree he was standing on. He leapt down to meet them when they got back to the island. Link went first, and helped Sheik up, so he saw the cloaked man before she did.

"Well?" Link asked. "Yes, we got the medallion, and the sage made it to the Sacred Realm alive."

The man chuckled lightly. "But do you know what you have done? By killing the shadow that roamed the temple?"

The man laughed at the look on Link's face. "I know about it, Princess Ruto told me. She's quite taken with you," he couldn't help adding.

"Shut up," Link said. "So, what did we do?"

"Well, you broke one of Ganon's foulest curses. The ice on Zora's River."

"Awesome!" Link said, and he slapped five with Sheik.

"Don't you know why it was covered in ice?" the man said.

"We thought it was to eliminate the Zoras," Navi said.

"It was. But the Zoras control all the water in Hyrule. Including the rain."

Sheik's mouth fell open beneath her mask. "No way. No way!"

"Yes way," the man said, smiling beneath the hood of his cloak.

"What?" Link asked. But his question was immediately answered when the heavens opened up and poured down on them. It was raining.

Sheik laughed, and hugged Link. He actually hugged her back, and they both whooped and cheered. Link had began to feel the drought during his injuries, and he was as happy as she was. Almost.

They were both drenched, but they didn't bother to get out of the rain. They enjoyed every second of it. It rained until the lake was full of water, and the rivers ran and spilled over their banks. It didn't flood, but everything was drenched. It was the cleansing rain, the rain that Navi had been in seventeen years ago, washing away the bones of dead Zoras and the blood in the earth.

When it finally stopped raining, the sun was setting and the cloaked man was gone. Link, Navi, and Sheik looked out at the water.

"It's beautiful," Sheik said happily.

"I know," Navi said from her shoulder. 'Don't you think so, Link?"

"Yeah. It's beautiful." No one noticed that his eyes weren't on the lake. No one except the cloaked stranger sitting on top of the dead tree, unheard and unseen.

x x x

"Malon!" Sheik yelled, as she pulled into Lon Lon Ranch.

It was raining again. The rain had stopped long enough for the dry ground to soak up the much needed water, then it had poured down again. The trio of Link, Sheik, and Navi had just pulled into Lon Lon Ranch. Sheik couldn't wait to find Malon and Talon, to tell them the news.

"Malon!" Link yelled. He dismounted Epona and put her in the stables, then brushed her. Sheik did the same to Star. It didn't take very long, and they rushed into the house, eager to find Malon and Talon.

Malon was in the sitting at the kitchen table, head on her arms, fast asleep. When a muddy Sheik woke her up and told her what happened, she went upstairs, woke her father, who had also been sleeping, and went outdoors. Then all of them, except for Navi, began putting up the horses that were outside.

"It's raining!" Malon said, tears coming to her eyes as she put another horse into the stables. "Goddesses be praised, it's raining!"

Malon hugged Talon hard, then Sheik, then Link. Everyone laughed. It was nearly midnight before the horses were put up, and nearly one in the morning before the rain stopped. Everyone stayed up all night, only going to sleep when the sun rose.

Link decided, as he fell asleep, that this was one of the happiest days in his "new" life.

AN: Well, was it any good? I hope so. If it wasn't, leave me a review and tell me what I did wrong. If it was, leave me a review anyway cause you like to be nice. : ) You can consider it my birthday present. :p Anyway, I hope my next chapter will be up soon, and it will, if the Writer's Block doesn't come back.

Thanks!

—The Gemini Sage

PS, I know some of you things that might be—ahem—spoilers, and some of you are trying to get those who know to tell! Well, don't! Please! It'll mess my story up. -;   
  
Feel free to speculate on anything that's bugging you, though. : )


	23. Chapter TwentySeven: The Black Shadow

Author's Notes: First, thanks to the people who wished me a happy birthday, cause it was. I got Link's Awakening! This makes meh happy. Second, I just started a new website, the link is in my profile, and I really need some fan content, and would be very greatful for any that was sent to me. Or to anyone who'd like to join the forums. Third, enjoy the chapter!  


Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Black Shadow

Everyone had slept almost all day. They had gotten up around noon to do chores, and Link convinced Sheik to wait until the next day to try their hand at another temple. The rain was still coming, on and off, but by sunset the clouds had returned to normal. The sunset was beautiful, and everyone at the ranch watched it from the roof. Link was the last to turn in that night. He didn't really want to sleep.

Link's mind was still reeling from yesterday's battle. He didn't like it that Dark Link had known his most private thoughts, and had said most of them out loud. Most might have viewed sleep as an escape, but Link knew it would only lead to restless tossing and turning, and, if he ever got to sleep, more nightmares, or that weird dream that he kept forgetting. He sat outside, playing his ocarina, in the familiar lullaby that haunted his sweeter dreams, until he grew tired. Then he just looked at the stars.

At last he was too tired to hold his eyes open any longer. He trudged into his room, where Navi was sleeping on his nightstand, and put his cap over her, so she wouldn't see him while he changed into his nightclothes.

But as weary as he was, Link couldn't get to sleep. Words kept replaying themselves in his mind, over and over....

_"I know what happened to your parents. They died saving you." _

_Stop it,_ Link thought to himself. _Don't think about it._

_"It's your fault they died. They wouldn't have, if you hadn't been around." _

_That isn't true,_ Link told himself sternly. _I have to go to sleep._

_"You killed them, Link!"_

Link rolled over and buried his face into his pillow.

_No! No, no, no! I didn't. I didn't! At least, I didn't mean to...I didn't mean to...._

Link fought the inexplicable urge to cry as he lay face down on the bed, trying to sleep. But he was seventeen, and he couldn't cry.

_I wish I hadn't been there, then they wouldn't have died. I guess he was right,_ Link thought. _Does that make me a murderer?_

He lay there a long time, thinking, before something else that Dark Link said ran through his already weary mind.

_"I know everything. I even know how you _really_ feel about—"_

Link groaned. He wished it would just shut up.

His groan stirred Navi. Link knew it had, and he lay still, pretending to be asleep.

"Link? You awake?"

Link didn't answer.

"I know you really are awake. You're just pretending. Don't feel bad, I wouldn't be able to sleep either, if it was me."

Still, Link didn't answer. Navi's curiosity got the better of her after a moment and she asked Link something he didn't want to answer.

"What was that shadow thing talking about? When he said he knew how you really felt about something?" Navi took flight from the nightstand and sat on the foot of the bed.

Link still didn't answer.

"Do you like someone? It's not Ruto, is it?"

"Dear Goddesses no," Link said, before he could stop himself.

"You are awake!" said Navi gleefully. "I knew it." She paused before speaking her next question.

"If it isn't Ruto, then who is it? Malon?"

Link grunted and mumbled something unintelligible to his pillow. Navi caught his tone, however.

"Oh. Not Malon, then. Is it Sheik?"

Link grabbed the pillow, and without sitting up, threw it at her at her.

"I thought so," came her muffled reply. "Is that's what's the matter with you?"

"Yes. Now will you go to sleep and leave me alone?"

His words were harsh, but Navi knew he was just irritated. "Sure," she said. "And don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"Go to sleep," said Link, grabbing the spare pillow under the bed and laying back down again. "There's nothing to tell."

x x x

"You want to what?"

"Don't look at me like that, Navi. Think about it, it makes sense!"

Link and Navi, watched by Malon, Talon, and Sheik, were busily arguing over which temple to go to next. Link had opted for the Spirit Temple, even though he knew it was in Gerudo territory. He had told Navi he didn't want to see anything that was in the House of the Dead.

Sheik almost wished she hadn't told him it was called that. She did find it amusing to watch someone else bicker with Link, however. He would get the other person so wound up they couldn't think straight, and they'd agree with him just to shut him up. She could see Talon, who was sitting next to her, laughing quietly, and she elbowed him in the ribs. She had half expected to see Malon giggling, but Malon looked very serious and even more miserable. She wanted to ask what was wrong, but she'd have to wait until they were alone.

Malon was indeed miserable. She didn't want her best friend to go into Gerudo territory. She had learned to fear the Gerudo, over seven years, and he just knew Sheik would get sick or kidnapped or worse. Malon was a worrier, when it came to her friends, mostly because she had so few of them. Her bright blue eyes squeezed themselves shut, trying to block out the sound of the bickering. She knew what she could say to talk them out of it, but did she dare?

Link had finally gotten Navi confused as to what she was talking about. He somehow had changed the subject from which temple they were tackling to the state of the cows in the barn. Navi hadn't been able to resist teasing him about his fear of cows, and Link had changed the subject yet again by abruptly asking, "So, the Spirit Temple, right?"

"_Ye_—what?"

"You said yes! We're going!"

"Aah," said Malon, "I have to talk to you guys before you go." She shot a pleading look at her father.

Talon, taking the hint, gulped down the last few bites of his breakfast and stood up. "Well, I'll let you guys talk, then," he said. "I gotta go...milk the cows."

Normally, this was Malon's job, but no one seemed to notice what he had just said. Link was still gloating at Navi, who was busy fuming at Link, and Sheik was watching Malon.

"Shut up, you two," Sheik snapped at Link and Navi as Talon left. "What's the matter with you, Malon?"

Malon bit her lip. "You shouldn't go into Gerudo territory," she said, and before someone could cut her off, she added, "Because the Sage of Shadow needs your help."

"What are you talking about, Malon?" Sheik asked gently.

Malon buried her face in her arms so she wouldn't have to look at them.

"Impa."

Her voice was muffled, and at first Sheik thought she was hearing things. She stiffened. "What did you say?"

"Impa is the Sage of Shadow. You have to go help her."

Link and Navi, who had been hissing rude remarks at each other, were now completely silent.

"What do you know about Impa?" Sheik asked slowly, her shaking voice little above a whisper.

"I know...she disappeared five years ago. When you came. And five years ago is when you said the Forest Sage disappeared. She's a sage. Impa is."

Malon kept her face buried in her hands, kept her arms on the table. She couldn't make herself look at Sheik. Malon had given herself away and she knew it.

"How do you know she disappeared five years ago?" Sheik asked. "Malon, I've _never_ mentioned Impa to you."

The room was dead quiet.

"Everyone knows...." Malon choked, trying not to cry. "That she was...Princess Zelda's guardian."

Sheik gasped. "You _know_? You know where Zelda is?"

Malon nodded miserably, still hiding her face. "I overheard you talking to Navi. I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I'm so sorry...."

"Impa is the sage," Sheik said, dazed. "And...you know who I am. Goddesses, my world just turned upside down."

x x x

He was sitting behind a shrub next to an open window, listening. After Talon came out the door, he stood up a little, so he could watch what they were doing. He hated spying, but how else was he supposed to figure out where they were going next?

_I heard them talking, too,_ he thought. _Poor Malon, she seems pretty upset. I hope Sheik won't get mad._

She didn't. The cloaked man watched from his place beside the window as Malon began to cry. Sheik forgave her for eavesdropping, much to his relief. Link and Sheik managed to cheer her up, though Navi still looked a bit dazed that Malon found out.

_She needs to watch herself,_ he thought. _I know it has to be hard for her, but if her security gets too relaxed, Ganon will catch her. And that's the last thing we need. At least I know they're going to the __Shadow__Temple__ now. I thought Link would __nev__er quit arguing with Navi. A lot like the old days, really._

The man shook his head. No use brooding on that. Although Malon did remind him quite a bit of....

No. Impossible. That woman was dead, anyway. He had lost track of her when Sam died, but her grave was still in the graveyard in Kakariko Village

_I'll ask anyway. Just to be on the safe side. Can't hurt._

The cloaked man's thoughts were interrupted by a horrible sight. From where he was standing outside the window, he could see to Kakariko. And what he saw wasn't good. There was a billowing cloud of smoke pouring from into the sky. Several more appeared, even as he watched. Finally, he forced his shocked body into motion, and moved to the door in three quick strides. He yanked the door open roughly, and tried to ignore the shocked faces of the four sitting at the table.

"Kakariko Village is on fire," he said. "Get Talon and go to the village, we have to put it out."

x x x

Link raced into the village, everyone else hot on his heels. People were screaming, children were crying. The only thing that they could be thankful for was that there were no Gerudo around.

The village was in flames. They towered over everything. Link would figure out later how it got started, but right now his main concern was for it to end.

Sheik had had the sense to grab a Goron Cloak before they had taken off for the village. Everything was in a utter chaos, and Link was unsure what to do, but the cloaked man said, "Link, you've got the cloak. Make sure everyone gets out of those houses. Everyone else come with me to help me put this out."

Link nodded, as did everyone else. He managed to get inside three homes and rescue two little boys, an infant girl, and even a cat. He had though he was done, but a woman ran up to him an asked, "Link, please, my little girl is still in the house. She's at the window but she says she can't get out."

Link looked at the house the woman was pointing to. Leaning out of a second story window was Kara, looking very frightened. Link's eyes widened, and he again donned the cloak, and made his way into the house.

He couldn't tell where he was going. Everything was red hot, glowing from the heat. He only saw one set of stairs, and he made his way up them quickly.

"Kara!" he called. "Kara, where are you?"

"I'm up here!" came the reply, "But don't come in! There's a thing in here, I can't get out!"

Huh?

Link located the source of her voice, coming from one of two doors at the top of the stairs. He kicked open the already burned door, and saw Kara, pale as a ghost, green eyes widened with fear. He walked over to her and waved out the window to let someone know he had found her.

"I told you not to come in!" she said. "It was trying to find you! It wanted to lure you here!"

Link turned around and saw a mass of black shadows blocking the doorway. For a minute his mind went to Dark Link, but logic ruled that out. He didn't have any clue as to what it was, but he grabbed Kara—literally—and ran down the stairs, going through it. It felt like ice.

He got her safely out of the house and to her mother in record time. Sheik was outside of the house, already putting the last fire out with the water that the people had collected when it rained. She saw that he looked as white as a ghost, but she didn't have time to question him about it.

Link watched Kara hug her mother and a small brown haired boy next to her that had to be her brother. Then Kara turned to Link and said, "It wants you! It was stupid to come in the house. Ganon knows you're alive now and he sent that thing after you."

Link shuddered. When all the fires were at last out—the rain helped at the last minute—he dared to venture back inside the burnt house. The stairs had fallen away, and everything was black, but still...yes, there was definitely something here.

Sheik came up behind him and touched his shoulder to let him know she was there. He jumped, startled.

"Kara said there was something in here," he whispered, when his pulse stopped racing. "Said Ganon knows I'm alive and that he sent it here to get me."

Sheik shivered a little.

"I saw it," Link continued. "Like a big black shadow."

Sheik went white. She grabbed Link's arm and hauled him out of the house.

"I know what it is," she whispered, when they got out of the front door. "Impa...told me once. About a black shadow that lives near here. She said it was a legend, but I think that was because I was very young at the time. It's supposed to be sealed away in the bottom of the well, by a former Shekiah leader. But I don't have any doubts that Ganon could have let it loose. Link, that thing is...trust me, you don't want it as your enemy."

"And it's after me, and in that house. Perfect. We ought to warn Navi."

Link looked around for her, but she was nowhere to be found. He hoped nothing had happened to her. He went back to tell Sheik she was missing, then doubled around for another look inside the house.

x x x

Navi wasn't hurt, but very preoccupied. She was being chased by a large beast with long claws, razor sharp teeth, and incredible speed. She was too tired from fleeing it to fly very far up above the ground, so she had no choice but to dive behind things, then take off again when it found her.

After a minute of this game of cat and mouse, Navi spotted a familiar pair of shoes in the crowd of anxious people. She dived behind Malon's legs as the beats caught up with her, and squeaked, "Malon, that thing is after me!"

To her surprise, Malon laughed, and picked up the beast, which she called a cat. It had fluffy white fur, with splotches of orange on its back and on one ear. It had large green eyes, which looked a bit creepy to Navi, but Malon thought it was adorable. She searched through the crowd, asking people who it belonged to, but soon found out it was a stray.

"Ohh, I'm keeping her, then," Malon said. "What an angel!"

"No way," Navi said. "That thing nearly killed me."

"She was just playing."

"I'm going to find Link," Navi grumbled, and flew off.

Malon scratched the cat behind her ears. "Now what am I gonna call you?" she murmured. She walked up to the trailhead, remembering Link's accident, and the strange cloaked man behind the gravekeeper's hut.

She heard footsteps behind her and turned around.

_Speak of the devil,_ she thought, but all she said was, "Hi."

"Hello," said the cloaked man back. "I've been meaning to ask you something."

Malon frowned. "What?"

"You remind me a lot of someone I used to know. Tell me, what was your mother's name?"

"Mikali. But she died when I was little. Why do you ask? Is she the one I remind you of?"

"Yes," the man whispered. "You look just like her. Especially the eyes. You have her bright blue eyes."

If Malon had known anything about him, or at least as much as Sheik and Link did, she would have found it extremely odd. She would have known that the man was always cool and composed, but now seemed fairly shocked.

But she had only met him once before, and she noticed nothing.

x x x

"Where'd Link go?" Navi asked, flying up to Sheik.

She turned around. "He went looking for you. I think there's something after him, it's in—"

"That house?"

"Huh? How'd you—?"

"Cause I just saw something green go past the window."

"What? Dammit, we'd better stop him before his curiosity gets him killed."

"You go ahead and go. I'll...go find Malon." Navi wasn't happy about the idea, but she was scared of whatever was in that house. It had to be far worse than the cat, which, by the time Navi got back to Malon, was purring like a motorboat.

Sheik entered the house, looking for Link. He'd managed to use his hookshot to get up the stairs, but he had found that there was nothing up there, went he went to look.

It was downstairs.

Sheik couldn't get up the stairs, so she yelled for Link to come down. She was scared to death. She knew what this creature was capable of, when it was in its true form.

To her surprise and relief, Link came back down, and told her that there was nothing upstairs. The relief changed to worry when he reported that it must have moved downstairs.

"What are you doing in the house, then?" Sheik asked.

"I don't know," Link admitted. "I couldn't help it."

"You don't know what it'll do to you! If it gets too close it can take over your mind! Which is what it's trying to do right now, probably."

Link got scared then. He figured she knew more on the subject than he did, at any rate, and even he didn't know why he was being inexplicably drawn toward the creature when he knew it was out to get him. And to have control over nothing, not even his mind...that was a scary thought.   
  
He'd always managed to keep bad emotions within himself, rather than taking them out on the world. Fear had always stayed locked away in a distant part of his mind. He never showed any weakness as a kid, not to Mido, not to anyone, because he was too stubborn to let them win. So he bit back his anger and waited until he needed it. Then he unleashed it all on his foes. Normally, they couldn't handle it. It was why he was such a good swordsman. He had control over his body and his mind. Or at least, it looked like it to other people.

But to not have that control....

"C'mon, let's get outta here," he muttered, very much against his will. He was still feeling drawn toward that creature. He tried his best to shake it off as they all went outside. They walked to the other end of the village, and Sheik said she was going back to see if there were any Gerudo around, since they had no disguises.

Fresh air did Link good. He inhaled deeply, and leaned back against a scorched tree, dead tired.

Just then, there was a shriek among the crowd. It came from the direction of the house. Link rushed back to see what had happened, a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

The house was surrounded by frightened people, all moving away from it. High in the air was a black shadow, wrapped around Sheik, strangling her.

Link's eyes went wide for a second, but then he ran forward, knowing what the result would be.

"You want me, you can have me!" he yelled. "But leave my friends out of it."

The shadow promptly dropped Sheik about ten feet to the ground. It then surrounded Link, choking him, trying to make him stop fighting by taking over his mind. It kept him on the ground, however, so he wouldn't have as much room to thrash around as Sheik had.

Link saw spots dance in front of eyes and struggled more, but his vision went black. A few moments later, he lost consciousness.

x x x

"Is he okay?"

"Move back, he'll be fine. Just give him some air."

Link's eyes snapped open. He was laying on the ground, two feet away from the spot where the shadow had been. A cloaked figure appeared at his left.

"What happened?" Link asked, letting the cloaked man help him to his feet.

"I chased it away before it killed you."

"Well, where is everyone? Sheik, is she okay? It dropped her, must've been ten feet."

"They're all fine. C'mon, they're in the only house that didn't get burned to ashes."

Link followed the man into a house far away from Kara's. They were all sitting at the table; Malon, Talon, Sheik, Navi; and a cat. Link collapsed into an empty chair.

"My head hurts."

It was a little before noon by this time, and Sheik suggested that if everyone was okay, they should go ahead and go to the Shadow Temple. Link agreed, and, wearily, let the cloaked man lead him, Sheik, and Navi to the graveyard.

"Where is the Shadow Temple, anyway?" Sheik asked.

"Down there," the man said, nodding his head at a nearby grave.

Sheik went pale. "It's in a _crypt_?"

"Afraid so. Link, have you got any paper?"

Link wordlessly got out his map, which now had all the other songs written down on it, along with Saria's special song, the Sun's Song, Malon's and Epona's song, and his mother's lullaby. The cloaked man wrote the song down on it, and gave it back to Link.

"You'll need that to get down there."

"How do we get back out?" Sheik asked.

"You'll have to warp to some other place, the Temple of Time, maybe. Good luck."

And with that, he threw down a Deku Nut and vanished.

AN: Well? Was it any good? Seemed kind of...bleh, to me, but I don't like this fic anyway. (Don't you dare disagree, it's so crappy and I don't know why you people read it.) I do hope you enjoyed it, don't forget to visit my new website! (Shortcut: www.domainofthesages.tk) Oh, and please reveiw me! : ) 

Thanks!

The Gemini Sage


	24. Chaoter TwentyEight: Every Step of the W...

Author's Notes: Well, I did get Writer's Block again, right around the place where spoiler they meet Impa. /spoiler However, I also had problems near the end of the chapter where I had inspiration, but was too busy with other stuff to write! And I also have spyware, anmy tips on getting rid of that would be nice. Anyway. There are some places you should be warned about in this chapter that will literally make you sick. I'm strongly thinking of moving the rating up to R, should I?  
  
Anyway, if you have a weak stomach, don't read this. It almost made one of my friends sick. Here's the warning list, which he said I should put up. This contains spoilers.

In the skull maze, they see a corpse. Gross description. Leave it alone. When Link is holding on the hookshot, about to drop, skip a few paragraphs, he falls into something gross. There is a gross monster in the room with soft ground. I think that covers it. Oh yeah, and the description of Bongo Bongo can be a little...all of the sudden I'm waaay too paranoid. Oo' Sorry.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Every Step of the Way

"Well," said Sheik, "We might as well get this over with."

"Isn't there a reason they call it the House of the Dead?" Navi asked.

"Yeah, there is. Trust me, you don't wanna know."

They played the Nocturne of Shadow until they got it right, and found themselves in a cool, dimly lit place. There were torches in a circle around them, and they were standing on a round stone. Link saw blood under his feet and quickly moved away.

The place smelled slightly, and Link felt a bit sick. He knew what the smell had to be.

"It's really, really quiet," said Navi. "This is creepy."

"You said it," Sheik said.

"Well, c'mon, no use standing around here," Link muttered, and started walking forward, eager to get away from the place where the blood had been.

Sheik and Navi followed, and they walked down a long, winding passageway. It seemed to take hours, even though it was only a few minutes. The only sound was of their footsteps. And then, they came to a dead end.

"Damn it," Link said. "Now what?"

"I dunno," Navi said. "Sheik's the expert on Shekiah stuff, and, well, this is the Shekiah temple...."

"I have no clue. There's gotta be something behind the wall, but I don't wanna go near it."

"Why's that?" Navi asked.

"Fly down so you light up the floor, and you'll find out."

Navi sank slowly to the ground. Something white could be seen on the ground. Looking closer, she saw a skull and she shrieked.

"That's why they call it the House of the Dead. That's not the first one I've seen, and it won't be the last."

Link swallowed hard. Silence enveloped the three of them. No sound could be heard within the giant tomb.

"I think you forgot something," said a voice behind them.

Link, Sheik and Navi all yelled, then turned around to see who it was.

"Goddesses," Sheik said. "Don't ever do that to me again."

Navi, her light very weak, sank down onto Link's shoulder without a word.

"Sorry," said the cloaked man. "But you forgot this."

He tossed what looked like a purple hand mirror to Sheik. However, the middle was made of red glass.

"Don't look through it until I'm gone," he warned them. "It's called the Lens of Truth, and it tells you what's real and what's not. I'll see you later."

He backed away into the darkness.

"Interesting," Navi croaked weakly. "Why'd he not want us to look through it until he was gone?"

"I bet I know," said Sheik. "Link, take a look at me through that thing, see if I look the same."

She tossed the glass to Link, who looked and gasped. "You're—I mean—you look like _Zel_—"

"Shhh, not out loud!"

"Sorry."

"We would have found out who he was, if we had seen him through it."

"Really?" Navi said. "Too bad we didn't look, then...he scared me to death."

Sheik rolled her eyes, then froze.

"What?" Link asked.

"Don't look up," she said, looking pale. Link, of course, looked up out of curiosity, and wished that he hadn't. Bones hung from the ceiling, most of them all the way clean of any flesh. Most of them.

"Oh, Goddesses." Link groaned, feeling sick. He tore his eyes away from the ceiling, and calmed himself down. When he had successfully stopped the contents of his stomach from empting out all over the cold floor, he examined the Lens of Truth.

"Is that wall really there?" he asked, and to answer himself, held up the lens and looked. He could see more of the narrow passageway beyond, and he walked forward. Behind him, he heard Sheik and Navi gasp.

He turned around to find himself alone, in the dark, facing a cold, stone wall.

"Uh, guys, you can follow me any time you want to. Not that it isn't really _cozy_ in here, I'm just a little..."

Link's eyes found the ceiling against his will.

"...lonely."

Link reached out to touch the wall, but his hand passed through it. He heard Navi shriek.

"C'mon, it won't hurt you," Link said, still staring at the ceiling.

He felt something small and quivering land in his hand. He pulled it back through the wall.

"Hi," Navi said shakily.

Sheik was now alone on the other side of the wall, and without light. She didn't hesitate to step through the wall after her companions. Wordlessly, they continued to walk down the tunnel.

"You are _so_ scared," Link said to Sheik after a minute. He grinned.

"You're scareder," Sheik said.

"That's not even a word," Link said. Bravely, he reached down and took her hand, then said, "So you won't turn around and go back on me."

Sheik was quite embarrassed, but didn't let go, much to Link's relief. She snorted and said, "So you won't wet your own pants, right?"

"I'm doing this for _you_."

"Sure you are," said Sheik, then grew silent. She decided not to push it; she liked the arrangement just fine.

After some more walking, they came to a room. There was a statue in the middle, that looked like some kind of demon bird. One side of the room ended in nothingness, but the other side had a door. They went through it, feeling apprehensive.

Sheik couldn't get her mind off of Impa, in this place for five years. It felt like hell. She had seen corpse after corpse, and she was feeling sick. She knew Impa still _had_ to be alive—she wouldn't even consider another possibility—but what state would she be in when they found her?

_What if she doesn't recognize me?_ Sheik thought. _What if she_ does _recognize me? Will she even remember me? Or will she be mad at me for letting all of this happen to Hyrule? Goddesses, she's been in this hellhole for five years...._

When they walked through the door, rusty, bloodstained bars came down after them. The ground in the room was soft, and Sheik sank about an inch into the ground when she stepped in the room.

"This ain't good," she said, nodding her head back at the barred door.

"No," Link said. He walked three slow paces into the room, and then something shot up out of the dirt and wrapped itself around his ankle. He yelled, and struggled, realizing it was a hand. A hand also grabbed Sheik, its bony fingers bruising her ankle.

And then, the dirt in front of Link began to move. Something was wrenching its way upward.

Another hand grabbed Link on his head. Navi shrieked and jumped away just in time. A hand grabbed Sheik; she went pale and her struggles became more forced. When a third hand grabbed her, they stopped altogether. She had never in her life been so scared, and she could no longer move, paralyzed with fear.

More hands grabbed the two of them, so that eventually, they couldn't even move. The dirt was still moving. It cracked, and up from the pits of the graves came the stench of rotting flesh.

For at least the tenth time that day, Sheik wanted to be sick.

The creature was all white, and slimy. It had two hands that were actually attached to it, and its head had no human features—except the mouth, which was equipped with several long, bloody teeth.

Navi flew over to the door, unnoticed by the zombie. She banged on it and yelled, hoping someone—anyone alive—would hear.

Link began to shudder. It was making its way slowly toward him. He struggled, but the hands wouldn't let go. He turned dead white as the monster reared up, ready to strike his throat, to tear away his flesh—

The door wrenched open, the rusted bars breaking. A figure darted in the door, dodged the hands that came out of the ground, and rushed over to the creature. The figure was so swift that it looked like a blur, but when everything was still, the zombie lay still and unmoving at the figure's feet, and the hands slackened their grip and let go.

Sheik was still quivering. She had her eyes closed, and she was hugging herself. Link felt like doing the same thing. He couldn't stop shaking. But he took one look at the person who had saved their lives and gasped, knowing Sheik would have to open her eyes.

"Hi," the figure said. "Are you two okay?"

Sheik's eyes snapped open. She knew that voice! It had been so long since she'd last heard it, but oh, how familiar that voice was! It had been so long...but how fondly she remembered the stories as she went to sleep, the soothing voice this person had had....

_"Impa, what do the Shekiah say about stars?" Zelda asked, as she was tucked into bed._

_Impa smiled and sat down next to her. "Ahh, the stars. Well, they say lots of things. They say the spirit journeys into the sky, and becomes a star, when you die."_

_Zelda's eyes drooped; she was becoming sleepy._

_"If you see a falling star," Impa continued, "that means someone up there is watching over you, making sure you're safe. It's their way of showing love." _

_Zelda's eyes closed, but she continued to listen._

_"They say the stars that burn brightest, the ones we can see from here, are the people who did great things. Some of the stars connect, make pictures in the sky...."_

_Impa talked, in her voice that was strong and gentle at the same time, and soon Zelda was lulled into sleep._

"Impa?" Sheik asked, no daring to believe it. She took two slow steps towards the Shekiah woman.

_I missed her so much. After all I went through, she was with me. Every step of the way._.

Impa frowned. "How do you know my—"

Impa stopped, and her hands flew to her mouth. She gasped.

"Zelda...you're Zelda...my precious Zelda...."

Sheik nodded, and she no longer cared who caught her. She snapped her fingers once, and in a bright flash of light, was Zelda again. She and Impa fell into each other's arms, and they both began to cry. Link tactfully studied the dirt on his boots, and Navi tactfully flew into his pocket.

"Oh Impa, I missed you so much! I'm so sorry all this happened to Hyrule...."

"It's all right, honey, it's okay...as long as you're safe...."

Zelda stopped crying and wiped her eyes. "Impa, I—I tried to make it right. I gave food to all the people the Gerudo starved, and me and Link—" she went over to him, grabbed his arm, and dragged him back to where Impa was standing.

"Me and Link have already got four sages in the Sacred Realm, Impa! I didn't know you were a sage, or I would have come here first...."

"I'm so sorry I left you. I had no idea that would happen," Impa murmured. "Otherwise, I...I would have told you. I tried to hold on as long as I could, but it just became too strong...."

She smiled. "So, Link, you're alive. And a Hylian, too," she mused. "I'm glad you're okay."

Link tried to smile back. He was shaking too badly. He had come so close...he could still see the long teeth, caked with dried flesh blood.

"I'm so glad I found you," said Zelda. "But I guess to have to go to the Sacred Realm now...."

Impa shook her head. "Not just yet, Princess."

_She used to call me that when I was little, _Zelda thought._ It was her nickname for me...and she still remembers...._

"I don't have the medallion anymore," she said bitterly. "Not half an hour ago, the Shadow came near me, and managed to get it away from me. Then I heard someone screaming. I was so desperate to see something alive again that I found where it was coming from. I've never made a better decision in my life."

Impa hugged Zelda again. "To think what would have happened to you if I hadn't made it in time," she murmured.

Zelda shivered.

In a little while, Zelda had changed back to Sheik, and the four of them walked through the door again. What had seemed to be an endless abyss beforehand was revealed as a narrow pathway, when looking through the Lens of Truth. They began searching for the shadow that held Impa's medallion, and talked while they searched, for the silence was always at their backs, and it made them uncomfortable; silence gave them time to brood on the horrors that surrounded them.

Eventually, they found a maze. To everyone's horror, the walls were made of skulls. Link was strongly reminded of the zombie that had tried to eat him alive, and he shuddered.

"The first Shadow Sage must've had a _really_ sick mind," he muttered. "Are we actually going in there?"

Impa nodded. "We have to."

She shot a worried glance at Sheik, who looked like she wanted to throw up. She hugged herself and attempted to smile at Impa.

"I'll be fine," she said, sounding more like she was trying convince herself than Impa.

"You might," Navi muttered. She dived into Link's pocket so she wouldn't have to see anymore. "But I'm keeping my eyes shut."

They navigated their way through the maze, always finding something horrible at dead end. It was like a nightmare; every step of the way, everywhere they turned, dead rot stared straight back at them. At one point, they found a corpse at the end that looked like a zombie had taken a huge chunk out of it and decided not to finish the rest. The dead flesh was dripping off of the brittle, yellowing bones, and one eye was hanging out of its socket. The rotten contents of the corpse's stomach spilled out of the gaping hole in the ribcage, and the skull, which was smashed in, had rust colored stains all over it.

At this point, Sheik began to panic to herself, wondering if they would ever make it out alive, or if they would die here, or if there was something worse ahead. When she saw the body, which both Link and Impa tried to hide from her, she had gasped and quickly covered her eyes with her hands, breathing deeply, trying to banish it away from her mind. King Zora was nothing compared to this.

"I wanna get outta here so bad," she murmured.

Impa bit her lip. The instinct to shield Zelda—no, _Sheik_—the instinct to shield _Sheik_ away from everything began taking over again. But she knew it was no good. She just put her arm around Sheik and continued through the maze.

When at last they got out, they reached the path to the basement, which, according to Impa, was where the creature most likely dwelled.

"It likes to be deep in the earth, according to what knowledge has been passed down to me," she said.

"So, wait, you're telling me we've got to go even deeper?" Link groaned. "I'll never make it out of here in one piece. Impa, _look_ at those things!"

"Those things" happened to be guillotines, that came down at intervals of about five seconds. They were spread out through the path to the basement, along with several Skulltulas. The path looked impossible, and Link couldn't even begin to imagine what they would find in the basement. More bodies? By the Goddesses, he hoped not.

"Sorry, you don't have much of a choice. You _do_ want the medallion, right?"

"Yeah," Link grumbled. Sheik bit her lip to keep from laughing. Link was hard argue with, but Impa was downright impossible. She exchanged an amused glance at Navi while Link continued to bicker with Impa.

"All right, woman, you win," he surrendered, "Just stop preaching!"

Impa threw back her head and laughed. "Preaching? I was _arguing_, boy. You sure have got a lot to learn on _that_ subject. C'mon, let's go."

They dodged through the whirling blades quickly. Link rolled under the blades first, then killed the spiders so that Impa and Sheik could go through. Navi stayed in Link's pocket.

The basement was one big hole. A narrow walkway—occupied by several Stalfos and some more spiders—led down to a large ledge, surrounded by nothingness on all sides. When they got to the ledge, any Stalfos that hadn't already attacked surrounded them. The fight was fairly easy to win; The Stalfos were clumsy and crowded, and Link's sword was excellent for breaking brittle bones.

The Shadow Temple was truly like walking through hell. Everywhere Link turned, the living dead was waiting to attack him. They went through several rooms, each with different challenges, some not so bad, others fitting the nickname the temple had earned, "House of the Dead."

In one room, a door locked behind them, and they had to dart madly around a pair of Grim Reaper blades to catch five silver rupees, which turned out to be pieces of a key. In another, They all had to push a block beneath a spike-covered ceiling to avoid becoming the next meal for some hungry redead. It was an uphill battle, every step of the way.

At one point, when they were so deep into the tombs that all four of them were shivering with cold, they discovered the final path. There was a hole in the floor, but dropping down would mean no way back up.

Sheik tested this theory by edging down slowly with the hookshot. She came back up, and reported that it went down to about ten feet from the ground, and she could see torches burning at the bottom. Impa didn't think the fall would be dangerous, so she allowed Sheik to drop down first.

Sheik dropped, and there was a soft thump, as if something had cushioned her fall. There was a strangled cry, then silence. Impa and Link exchanged alarmed looks, then a worried Impa pulled the hookshot back up by the point, and dropped down to see what happened.

Again, they heard a strangled cry, and silence.

"Impa?"

"I-I'm fine. You'll have to come down too, Link—but—you won't like it much."

Impa sounded utterly horrified.

"Is Sheik okay?"

Silence.

"_Impa?_" Link called, worried.

"She'll—_he'll_ be fine. Just...come on. Best to just...get it over with...."

Link exchanged a look with Navi. He was not at all comfortable with dropping down ten feet to the floor, because of his accursed fear of heights, but not knowing what horror was down there made it worse.

"You okay?" Navi asked gently, seeing what he was thinking.

"Fine," Link lied nervously. He grabbed the hookshot and edged his way down the chain. Navi fluttered down beside him. He could see several pinpricks of light below, but he didn't want to let go of the hookshot.

_Just do it,_ he thought. _Let go. Pretend there's _not_ a black pit of horrors down below you...._

He forced his stiff fingers away from the chain and felt himself drop. He landed lightly in something soft and lumpy.

Something squishy. It smelled horribly. The stench was all too familiar....

He didn't want to look down, but he did anyway. He let out a cry much like Impa and Sheik had, and leapt up out of the pit of corpses he had landed in.

It had been almost four feet deep. Link had been up to his waist in rotting flesh. No wonder Impa and Sheik had gone quiet.

It wasn't just the cold they were shaking from.

Navi went up and yanked the hookshot out of the wall they had put it in, then they walked down a short tunnel before coming to a huge room with a ship.

"Let me guess," Link said dully, "We have to get on."

"That or die here," said Navi simply. "There's no way back out."

Using the Lens of Truth, Link discovered a walkway which boarded the ship, which was floating in a river of fog. The ship automatically started moving, and several of the crew came out for lunch. Link helped fight off a half dozen redead, three Stalfos, and several mummy-like creatures Navi called Gibdo.

All of the sudden, when the enemies were gone, the ship began to rumble. Link knew they were going down, and he did _not_ want to find out what was below the depths of the thick fog. Hell itself, probably.

Impa pointed out to them a ledge which they could jump to. Link was truly afraid, but he jumped anyway. Impa followed.

Sheik was too scared to move. She had been very quiet since landing in the pit.

Link jumped back on the ship, grabbed her hand, and helped her jump across to the ledge. To save her some dignity, he didn't comment that he had jumped across the gap four times to save _her_.

He didn't mind. Much.

They were now marooned, however, on the narrow strip of land. There was a door on their right, and a door across the fog river, but they couldn't get to the latter.

"Well, we're too far to quit now," Link said. "C'mon."

He pulled open the door and they all walked inside. The walls to their left and right were covered by a wooden set of sharp spikes. They were all rust colored, as was the floor. Link turned around to go back out, but sturdy bars came down, keeping all of them inside the room. The spiked walls began to inch inward.

Link swore loudly. Impa raised an eyebrow.

"Don't," Navi said, "It wont help."

Sheik's brain clicked along furiously. These were razor sharp spikes that would kill them on contact. But they were made of wood. Now, if there was a fire—

"Aha!" Sheik said. She muttered under her breath and a ball of fire appeared in her hands. She threw it at one set of spikes. It burned to ashes and the four of them retreated to the wall. The other set of spikes kept inching inward. Sheik tried, but she couldn't make the call up the fire again. At this point she looked at Impa and said, "Can't _you_ do that one?"

Impa shook her head, looking pale. The spikes grew nearer.

And as the spikes dragged ever closer, Sheik had another idea.

"Can you make ice?"

"Sure, but—"

"Freeze the spikes, then, and hurry."

Impa changed the spikes to ice with a blast that issued from her hands, but they kept moving.

"They should be brittle enough to break," Sheik said. The spikes were now about a foot away. Link got out his sword and cut a sizeable hole in the middle of the wall. He helped Impa and Sheik through, and at the last moment, went through himself. The rest of the spikes shattered when they hit the wall.

"That was _so_ close," Link said. "Remind me never to do that again."

Sheik glared at him. "Yeah, the next time I _know_ we're heading into a deathtrap, I'll be sure and let you know."

"Thanks."

The bars on the door slowly retreated back into doorframe. Link looked around with the Lens of Truth and found a chest with some bombs in it. He was grateful; he had been running low.

They went back out to the strip of land and stared at the only other option they had: The door across the river of fog. There was a large statue on the other side, surrounded by about three or four dead flowers. Normally, dead flowers wouldn't have bothered Link much, but he realized that everything was dead here, and for some crazy reason, felt bad that innocent plants had to suffer through it.

"So," Link said, "How are we getting over there?"

"We aren't," Navi said sullenly. "Not unless you can knock that statue down and turn it into a bridge."

"I bet we can," Sheik said. "Can anyone throw a bomb that far?"

Link tried it, but he couldn't manage to get a bomb across the gap. They all landed in the fog river, and he never heard them go off.

"I have an idea," Impa said. "Link, are you a good shot?"

"The best," Navi answered for him. "Why?"

Impa took an arrow out of Link's quiver. Sheik, catching on, unwrapped some of the cloth from her wrist.

"What the hell are you two doing?"

Navi huffed.

"Just watch."

Sheik asked to see Link's bomb bag. He gave it to her, all the miniature bombs inside glinting like coins in a fountain. She picked up one of the bombs with the cloth. Because she hadn't touched it or jarred it against anything, it didn't swell or glow red.

"You gotta touch it to make it work," Link said unhelpfully. "Either that or whack it against something."

"I _know_."

"Of course you know," Link said, in a high pitched voice that was an exaggeration of how she sounded when she wasn't pretending to be male. "You know everything." He rolled his eyes.

Sheik rolled her own eyes and tied the small bomb to the arrow with the cloth, careful not to touch it or rattle it around too much.

"Shoot that over there," she said. "When it lands against the statue it'll blow up. And it's light enough to get over there since it's small."

Link shot the arrow, and, as Sheik predicted, the statue fell across the gap to form a narrow bridge.

Walking over a bottomless pit along such a narrow path was hardly fun, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they were on the other side. All of the flowers except one had been crushed by the statue when it fell, and Link picked the one dead flower and put it in his pocket when no one was looking, cursing himself for being so sentimental. The door was locked, but Impa and Sheik had enough magic between them to unlock it in just a few minutes.

The room was round, circular. The walls and floor were covered in cracks.

"It's just below us," Impa said, shuddering violently. "I think I can feel it because I'm a sage."

"But how do we—"

Navi's words were cut off by a loud cracking sound. A spilt second later, Link felt the floor crumble beneath him. He fell down, down into the blackness and—

Bounced.

He flew back up by about three feet and then came back down. It took several minutes for him to steady himself long enough to see if the others were unhurt.

"Sheik, Navi, Impa, you guys okay?"

"Not for long," Sheik answered. "Look."

Link turned around, and saw two disembodied hands floating in the air. The hands were huge. They beat down on the floor, which was actually a giant drum, and Link and his companions went flying.

Link felt an insane urge to go near the edge of the drum. Without knowing why, without looking back to see if anyone was okay, he did. Looking over the edge, he saw slimy green acid that had to be at least ten feet deep. He wondered what it felt like to be burned by acid....

_Whoa, Link, snap out of it,_ he thought. _It's that damn_ thing _that's doing it to you—_

He whirled around to see if his companions were unhurt. He ran over to Sheik, who was holding her wrist and wincing.

"Broken," she muttered, just before they all went flying again.

Link knew that this had to stop, before they were all killed. He drew out his bow, and when the giant hands grew still, shot one of them. The arrow landed right on target, as usual; in the center of the hand's palm.

He heard a cry of pain, and ran over to Impa, who was trying to help Sheik.

"Stay out of the way," Link said, "I'll handle this."

He shot another arrow at the hand, and moved away from his friends so that the creature would be lured away. Link knew he could easily hit anything with his arrows, even Sheik or Impa—

_Dammit, stop!_ Link thought angrily. _Stop it, stop it, stop it!_

The hand with the arrows in it collapsed onto the drum, sending everyone into the air again. When they all landed, Navi flew over to Link and said, "It's the shadow, called Bongo Bongo. Only I can't see it. What's beating the floor?"

"Those giant hands. Navi, can't you see them?"

"No...what are you—" Navi shrieked as a hand whizzed by her right. Link could see it, but she just felt a movement of air.

"It wasn't hands before. There must be something it's hiding," Link muttered. Without even thinking about it, he whipped out the Lens of Truth and stared at the hands. Or, rather, what was between them.

It looked like an upside down human, except it was severed at the neck. Instead of flesh, there was an orange eye. The wrists were also severed, dripping with blood, and the huge hands were floating next to them.

_I'll never be able to get rid of this thing. It's dead, so I can't even kill it,_ Link thought desperately. _I might as well just—_

His eyes flew back to the edge of the drum before the injured hands tapped the floor and knocked him off of his feet.

_No,_ Link thought. _I'm not giving up. Leave me alone!_

Link felt scared that he might lose control of his own mind. This thing truly represented fear itself. His eyes flickered again to the edge of the drum and he shuddered. He wasn't going to do it, not if he had any control...but it was getting harder and harder to resist.

Link shot the hands with every last arrow, until the rest of Bongo Bongo became visible, always careful to keep it away from Impa and Sheik. The eye was glowing sinisterly. The monster made an odd shrieking sound and grabbed Link with one of its arrow filled, bloody hands.

Link panicked as the cold flesh closed around him. He struggled violently to throw off the hand and the mind control. Bongo Bongo was now trying to get him to stop struggling, telling him it was hopeless, and moving became a huge effort. Link's sword somehow got pushed into one of the demon's fingers, and with a cry of pain, it threw him down roughly on the drum.

Link groaned when he heard a crack. He felt a sharp pain in his right leg. He knew it was broken.

He only had one shot. Link still had his sword, so he took careful aim, and threw it at the creature's eye.

The hands fell down to the drum, sending Link and his broken leg up a foot in the air. He landed two seconds later, and blacked out from the pain.

- - -

"Got any sixes?" Ruto asked Darunia.

"Go fish," came the sullen answer. "Pun intended."

Ruto glared at him and picked up another card. He smiled wryly.

Four sages were sitting in the Sacred Realm, at a card table that had been set up on the yellow stone. They had a deck of cards in the middle table, and each had several cards in their hands. Darunia, however, had about six more than anyone else, and wasn't taking it very well.

Saria studied her cards carefully. She was still new to card games. "Got any eights?" she asked Rauru hopefully.

Rauru never got the chance to answer, for at the next second, here was a bright purple flash, and three people and a fairy appeared on the purple stone.

Rauru jumped to his feet and swore, apologized to Saria and Ruto for swearing, and walked over to the people.

One person was Link, no mistaking that. The green clothes and the fairy sitting on his shoulder gave him away immediately. However, he was unmoving, held up only by Impa, and his right leg was sticking out at an odd angle. He was dirty, too; his clothes had rips in them, and he sported several deep cuts and large bruises.

A second person was Sheik, who was holding her arm and wincing. She, like Link, was unruffled and dirty; aside from the broken arm, however, she was fine.

The last person was unmistakably a Shekiah. Rauru knew that this person was the Shadow Sage, for she was carrying the medallion that had carried them there.

"What happened to them?" Rauru asked. The rest of the sages jumped up from the table, and rushed over to the purple stone. Saria was there first.

"He looks terrible," she said, her green eyes large and round with worry.

"They're going to be fine," said Impa. "They took a real beating in the Shadow Temple. Here, help me lay Link down, I need to heal his leg. Then I'll tell you all about it."

Impa laid Link down carefully, and with Saria's help, healed his leg. Then, with Sheik's help, she told them the entire story, starting with Kakariko Village being on fire.

"...flew up into the air again. Then Link blacked out, from the pain, I think. His leg must've really hurt. He did really good, though, considering the thing was trying to control his mind. I could almost see him fighting it. I couldn't help him, I was busy taking care of Sheik. And Sheik couldn't help him, not with a broken arm. He was on his own."

Saria shivered and looked at the place where Link lay.

"Then I found the medallion and warped them here. They've been through a lot."

"Is he going to be okay, though?" Saria asked, not hearing Impa's last sentence.

"Of course he will," Sheik said. "If he made it through the Shadow Temple, he could walk through hell if he wanted. Not that there's much difference."

Navi flew over to Link, examining him.

"A lot of funny things have happened recently," she said thoughtfully. "And I don't just mean our cloaked friend, or Kakariko burning to the ground."

Everyone shot her a quizzical look except for Rauru. A slow, knowing smile spread across his face.

"See," said Navi, "Sometimes Link knows if he's being watched, or if he's not alone in the room he's in. I don't think that anyone's reflexes are that good, though."

Navi looked directly at Sheik. "One time, seven years ago, he had a prophetic dream, about Ganondorf attacking him at the drawbridge."

Sheik's eyes widened; she hadn't known that.

"He could also see the shadow. I couldn't. Impa couldn't. Sheik could."

"So?" said Sheik.

"Not only that, but you both see Stalfos. You both knew when the poes were chasing us in the Forest Temple."

Sheik glanced at Impa, who frowned and shrugged. Then her eyes went wide.

"No way," she whispered.

"And you have something else in common," Navi said slowly.

"What's that?" Sheik asked.

She flew over to Link's hand, and put it out so that the entire group, all seated at the card table, could see it. There was a gasp, from every person in the room except Rauru and Navi.

"This triangle mark on the back of your hands."

Sheik's mouth fell open. She unwrapped some cloth from her right hand and stared. There was the triangle mark, a symbol of the Triforce holder.

She looked at Link's hand. The marks were identical, except his was located at a different spot; while Sheik's was near her thumb, his was further to the right. Ganondorf's mark would have been on top, near his knuckles, completing the symbol of the sacred Triforce.

"He's been complaining about a rash," Navi said. The red mark on his hand was a result from scratching. "Now we all know why. I didn't want to say anything, until I was dead sure. But now I am. Link has the Triforce of Courage."

"I can't believe it," Saria whispered, walking towards him. She took his hand. "I know he's brave, but...."

"His parents were brave," Navi said, her voice breaking. "The bravest people I had ever seen. And Link...look at the things he's _done_. Goddesses, he survived a hundred foot drop off of a mountain! He rescued, with the help of Sheik, _five sages_."

Navi paused. "How are we going to tell him?" she asked.

At this point, Link groaned. He felt a small hand around one of his and opened his eyes. His unsettled dreams about large, falling stones were completely forgotten when he saw the anxious face above his.

"Saria!" Link said joyfully, sitting up and hugging her.

Saria beamed. "Hi," she said happily.

"Hey," said Link. "Wow, how'd I get here?"

"I warped us here with the medallion," Impa said. "I healed your leg. How you feeling?"

"Great," said Link, grinning at Saria. He was very happy to see her again.

He got up, and sat at the now crowded card table. He looked at Darunia's cards.

"You know, you should really get rid of some of those."

Darunia glared at him. He smirked back.

The sages allowed Link, Impa and Sheik to join in a game of cards. Navi flew around, looking at their hands, taunting them with the information she held. Saria won the game, but by that time, purple flashes had started to interrupt their happy reunion. Sheik knew it was time to go, but she just couldn't say goodbye to Impa.

Sheik hugged Impa, hard.

"I'll come back," she whispered. "I'll get rid of Ganondorf and put things right and we can see each other again."

"And I'll cheer you on from here," Impa said, "every step of the way."

Impa held Sheik closer to her. "Love you, princess. Don't worry, it'll all be fine."

There was another bright flash of light, and then Impa stood alone. She wiped her eyes.

"Like my daughter," she said. "And Ganondorf took her away from me again."

- - -

They were back at the drum where Bongo Bongo's remains lay. A pile of ashes was all that remained. It had burst into flame after "dying."

A muffled sob broke the silence. Link glanced around at Sheik, who was wiping her eyes, but the tears kept coming.

Link felt his heart break for her. He glared at Navi, who zipped away, to the top of the floor that they had fallen through.

"Don't," Link said. "It'll be okay, you'll see her again."

"She's like my mother," Sheik said, still crying. "She left and then I found her and then I had to leave her again. She was always there for me when my dad wasn't. Every step of the way."

Link gave her a quick, awkward hug. "Please don't cry," he said. "It'll just make you feel worse. Me'n Navi are _both_ gonna help you get rid of Ganondorf. It'll be fine, okay?"

Sheik nodded and at last, stopped crying, to Link's immense relief.

"Hey, Navi! We're leaving. Get down here, or we'll go without you."

Navi flew back down and landed on Link's shoulder. Link walked over to the edge of the drum.

"It tried to get me to jump, you know," he said, shivering. "And I almost did. I almost jumped."

"I'm glad you didn't," Sheik said, shaking herself.

"So, to the Temple of Time?"

"Sure. I'll play it and you can follow me. Here, I'll write it down just in case."

After writing the notes down on the back of his map, Link made Sheik teach him the Prelude of Light. In a flash of yellow light, they were gone.

- - -

They were back in the ruined Temple of Time. The marble floor was still dirty, the air still smelled lightly of smoke, and the stained glass was still cracked and broken. Link, Sheik, and Navi made their way out of the woods and into the old ruined Inn.

"I hope I don't get robbed this time too," Link joked sullenly. He hated looking at the place like this. He had liked living there, even more than at Lon Lon Ranch. And he missed Johan. Link hadn't known him long, but he was a friend, and he was the connection to Link's past, something Link yearned to know about.

They made it out of the Inn and Market without too much trouble. Once out in Hyrule Field, however, the realized they had no horses. Link played Epona's special song on his ocarina, and in a few minutes, he and Sheik were riding her back to where Star was.

Of course, there was someone waiting on them when they got there. A cloaked figure was holding onto Star's reigns, which had apparently kept her from following Epona.

"Gimme my horse," Sheik said angrily, after dismounting Epona. She walked over to the cloaked man and grabbed the reigns out of his hands.

"Okay," the man said. Link smirked.

"So, what did you want?" he asked. He casually put his hands in his pockets, feeling around for the Lens of Truth.

"Just to ask if it went all right. Did it? By the way, get your hands out of your pockets, I know what you're trying to pull."

Link groaned and pulled his hands out into the open. "No fair," he said. "I only want to know who you are."

The man laughed softly. "You'll find out eventually, Link. But until then, no funny stuff," he added warningly.

Link shrugged.

"Hey Link, you coming, or what?"

Sheik was riding Star, about ten feet away. She wanted to go home more than anything. Link knew she wouldn't wait long.

"Be there in a sec," he called back. "I gotta go," he added to the man, as Navi flew away to join Sheik.

"No you don't," the man said. "I need to tell you something. It's about Malon. Her mother—"

Just then, a crack of thunder cut through the man's words, and it began to pour down rain. Everything was instantly soaked. Sheik took off.

"Sorry, gotta be later," Link said hurriedly, and he mounted Epona and raced after Sheik.

The man took cover under the nearby overhang to wait out the rain, cursing his rotten luck. He knew it might be a long time before Link found out who Malon truly was. But that was okay. He'd meet up with them at the desert. Because they still had one more temple to go....

AN: Whee! So? Was this any better than the rushed chappies? I hope so. Anyways, Since the next temple is the last, I wonder how you people would feel about me doing a sequel? It would be a loose MM adapt, just like this is a loose OoT adapt. I've had the idea for ages, but I don't want to write it if no one wants to read it. Gimme a review telling me if you think the sequel will be just as silly (for lack of a stronger word) as this story, or if you think it'd be a cool idea, or what.

Ohh, and I know I said this, but please visit [http:www.domainofthesages.tk], my Zelda fansite. I know some of you are fic writers for Zelda and are reading this, so I really wish you'd check the page out and send in your stuff. It'd help me out a lot. : ) Thanks a bazillion-jillion-million. Next chappie shouldn't be long, unless I get another busy spell or writer's block.

—The Gemini Sage


	25. Chapter TwentyNine: The Fate of the Sage

Author's Notes: Damn those corrupt servers! I had this chap ready days ago! I've been clicking the login button for half an hour, waiting for it to get back up! In fact, it's been down so long the NEXT chappie is almost done.

Anyway. n,n;

Thanks for the reveiws, I love you guys so much. n,n I'm glad you thought the sequel would be a good idea and I'm currently perfecting my storyline. Please (as usual, heh) visit mah site and join my forums. And of course, enjoy the chappie. n,n

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Fate of the Sage

"...and I'm gonna call you Angel. Cause that's what you are. You're so cute. Isn't she cute, Dad?" Malon asked Talon for the hundredth time.

"Yes, sweetie, adorable," he answered bracingly. "I wonder where Link and the rest are," he added, looking out the window.

"I hope they'll be back soon," Malon said.

Talon was busy doing the dishes, so he had a good view of the gateway to the ranch. Dishes were normally Malon's chore, but she was too busy babying the cat she had found in Kakariko Village.

Malon scratched the cat's ears and it purred. She giggled. "I love you too."

"It's raining again," Talon commented.

"Good," Malon said vaguely, and she kissed the cat on the forehead. It purred louder.

"Isn't she cute, Dad?"

"Yes."

"Sweet little Angel. Right, Dad?"

"Of course." Talon finished washing the dishes, and started stacking them on the table to air-dry. Thunder cracked in the distance.

"I hope they're not out in this," Malon said, worried.

Talon abandoned the dishes and sat next to his daughter. "I'm sure they're fine."

The cat meowed loudly, wanting to have its ears scratched. Talon satisfied it and its purring was loud enough to be heard from the next room.

"Hey, it _is_ cute," he said, chuckling.

At this point, the door banged open, and Link, Sheik, and Navi burst into the room, soaked. Sheik thought it was funny; she had taken off before the rain started and had gotten a head start. Link, however, didn't think much of the situation. He looked like someone had dunked him in a lake. Navi's light was a little dimmer than usual; but other than being wet, they all appeared to be okay.

"Hi!" said Malon. "You guys are okay! Look what I found at Kakariko." She held out the cat, who purred some more. "I named her Angel."

"What is that thing?" Link asked. "I hate to say this, but...it's disgustingly...cute."

Malon giggled. "It's a cat, silly."

"A what?"

Sheik took the cat from Malon and baby talked to it. Link looked at Talon they both shrugged, mystified.

"Guys, it's cute, but why are you talking to it like it's a baby?"

"Look at that face!" Sheik said.

Navi stayed as far away as possible from it. "Link," she whined, "That thing tried to eat me for lunch!"

"Well, I'll just keep her in my room while you guys are sleeping," said Malon. "Anyway, how'd it go? You guys do okay? It wasn't too bad, was it?"

The three of them exchanged a glance and sat down. It was a long story.

- - -

"...and he was there, holding Star's reigns. That was kinda funny, Sheik had a fit."

"I did not."

"Did too."

"Did not!"

"Did not!"

"Did t—argh!"

Link snickered at her. It was just a little before sunset, and they had related their adventure—without the graphic details—over supper. Link was on his last few bites of food, and, an entertaining idea forming in his mind, told everyone he was going outside to practice.

"Practice?" Malon said. "Practice what?"

"Archery."

Sheik rolled her eyes. "You don't need practice. You can hit practically anything."

"Not while I'm moving." Link gulped down the rest of his food and bolted out the door.

"Now _what_ is he up to?" Navi wondered out loud. She went out the door. Link wasn't anywhere in sight. She huffed. Everything was still and quiet.

But it only stayed that way for a minute. After awhile, Link came riding out of the barn on Epona, bow and arrows in hand. He grinned at Navi and took a lap around the corral, trying to hit all the fenceposts. He got seven out of at least one hundred. Malon, Sheik, and Talon came outside to watch the spectacle, and as Link gained an audience, his aim got better. Soon he had hit almost sixty posts a round. When both his arrows and Epona were worn out, he took Epona back in the barn and brushed her.

When the show was over, Talon went back inside, Sheik and Navi went up on the roof of the house, and Malon followed Link into the barn. Malon talked to Epona while Link brushed her. It was only then that Link remembered.

"Hey, you know that cloaked guy?"

"Yeah."

"He said something about you. Something about your mother. But he didn't get to finish."

Malon's eyes dropped to the floor.

"What happened to her, anyway?" Link asked gently.

"When I was little...she got sick. Real sick. And the healer couldn't do anything for her and...." Malon looked close to tears.

"I'm sorry," Link said. He gave her a quick hug, not feeling nearly as awkward about it as he had with Sheik. Funny how Malon never made him feel that way.

"Don't be," said Malon. She smiled, even though her bright blue eyes were still full of tears. "She's how I got my name. Her name and Dad's put together. Mikali and Talon made Malon." She giggled and wiped at her eyes, then grew serious. "I do wonder what that man was trying to tell you, though. He asked me about her today."

"Really?" Link asked, his own bright blue eyes widening. He frowned, thinking hard.

She nodded thoughtfully. "Said I reminded him of someone, and asked her name. He seemed kinda spaced out when I told him. Don't know why."

Link took his chin in his hands and thought, staring at the horse on his left. Malon did the same, looking at the horse on her right. Both pairs of blue eyes narrowed in concentration. Then Link and Malon both sighed.

"I have no idea," said Link.

"Me either."

Just then, Sheik and Navi came into the barn.

"There you are," said Navi. "We sort of have to talk to you."

"Yeah, you wanna come up to the roof?" Sheik asked.

"Uh, sure," Link said, confused. Sheik went up the ladder, and he made a face behind her back. Navi yanked his ears, and he waved to Malon before going up the ladder. She laughed. They could see her going inside the house from the roof of the barn.

It was getting dark by now, and some of the stars were out. Crickets chirped peacefully, and fireflies lit up the ground, flashing on and off. The weather had been very hot lately, but now that the sun had set, it was pleasantly warm, instead of suffocating. The remaining clouds on the horizon caught the orange rays of light from the almost set sun. The air smelled damp and earthy. Link found it enchantingly easy to relax at the moment; and the horrors of the cold temple left his mind at once. He gazed at the stars, finding them as beautiful as they always were.

"I love the stars. They're beautiful," Link said after awhile. His tone of voice was relaxed, adding to the lazy atmosphere.

"If you see a falling one," Sheik said, "then someone's watching over you, making sure you're safe. The stars are spirits, you know. A falling star is a spirit trying to come back to earth, to show its love for someone still in the realm of the living."

"Where'd you learn that?"

"Impa."

"Oh. Anyway, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Navi yanked at Sheik's ears.

Link looked at both of them, his gaze traveling from Navi to Sheik. Neither of them would meet his eyes. His good mood became tainted with unease.

"Okay, I'm not the exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, but I know something's going on. Just tell me, okay?"

Both Navi and Sheik started talking at once; Link couldn't make out a single word.

"Hold it!"

They stopped talking.

"One at a time, please," Link said, his good mood now completely overpowered with the anxiety of not knowing.

"Okay," Sheik said. "See, um, you have the—I mean—um—well—we have something in common."

Link frowned. His eyes said more than his mouth could have, at that particular moment.

"I can't exactly...Link, do me a huge favor and look at your right hand."

Slowly, keeping his eyes on Sheik as if wary of attack, Link raised his hand from the banister. His eyes flickered downward, not really registering what they saw. He stared at Sheik for another second before it clicked. His blue eyes grew large and his jaw dropped. He looked down at his hand again, his eyes almost popping out of his head.

"Sheik...Navi...is that...I mean, that's...that's...."

"A triangle," Navi supplied quietly. She was not at all sure how Link would react. The Triforce was both a blessing and a curse, in many different ways.

"A triangle," Sheik repeated. "On the back of your right hand. Just like mine."

Through the cloth wrapped around her hand, Link could make out a soft glow. He looked down at his own hand again, which had also begun to glow.

"When two holders of the Triforce get too close to each other, that happens," Sheik said. "It's been my warning bell against Ganondorf for seven years."

Complete and utter silence reigned for perhaps ten seconds.

"_Two holders of the what?_"

Link's voice shattered the previously peaceful quiet. Nearby, a tree exploded with birds, fleeing the sound.

"Shhh!" Sheik warned. "The—the Triforce."

Navi remained quiet, figuring Sheik knew more on the subject than she did. She was, however, glad Link wasn't upset. Shocked, but not upset. At least, not yet.

Link had to sit down. He did, leaned against the railing, and ran his hands distractedly through his hair. He stared at his hand again, then covered his eyes, using his fingers to rub his temples, as if he had just gotten a sudden headache.

"You all right?" Navi asked tentatively.

"Just peachy," Link said dully. "Why did it pick me? What did I _do_? Tell me that."

"Nothing," answered Sheik. "You're just the bravest person in Hyrule."

- - -

_So then I told them I was going to bed,_ Link wrote. _And I left._

He was in bed, but not asleep. And since he was alone, he was writing in his journal. After he had been injured at Death Mountain, he'd had to stay in bed a lot. Bored, he had asked Malon to get his journal from under his mattress in his old room in the Inn. Saria had started it, keeping records of everything he did, until he was old enough to write in it himself. He'd wrote in it every day, in order to make an accurate record of his life, and ever since it had come back from the Inn, he had wrote in it just as diligently as he had when he was in the forest. Not only had he grown up thinking it was necessary, but it was also a good way to vent emotions, something he rarely did.

Link paused.

_I don't really know what to think. I'm not exactly mad, but it doesn't really make me happy, either. I'm tired, but I know I won't be able to sleep. Too much too think about. It explains a lot of things, though. Like the dreams._

_I wish I could remember the one about rocks. _

_When I got knocked out at the __Shadow__Temple__ I dreamed it again. Only this time there was a person in it. I couldn't see who they were, or I don't remember, but they fell down. I think they died. They were in the place with all the falling rocks. There was some glass, too. There was lots of glass, and it shattered. I was there and it cut me. That's all I can remember._

_I hope I can remember enough to stop whatever's going to happen before it's too late. It was only luck and Navi that saved me last time. I guess this time I'm on my own. I feel like maybe I'm the only one who can save the person who's going to die. Navi said about my last dream there wasn't much I could do to change what was going to happen. I don't think I want to believe that. I'm in charge of what happens to me, and if I can save whoever it was, I will._

_I'm too scared to think about what will happen if I don't. Funny how a Triforce holder, the one who has Courage, can get scared. It confuses me. I'm not brave or anything, I just do what I have to. But I still have this thing. I almost __wis__h I didn't, because Ganon wants it so badly. I'd __nev__er give it to him, though, no matter what he did to me. He's already taken away too much._

_I __wis__h things were just simple. I want my old life back, the one I had in the forest, where the biggest thing I had to worry about was Mido. It all seemed so miserable then, but it seems so easy now. I guess that's part of growing up. Maybe if I'd had parents they could have warned me about it. It's my own fault I don't have any, though. I'm a lousy excuse for a human being, killing my own parents, even if I _didn't_ mean to. And I didn't. But I'm still scared that makes me a murderer._

_I don't think I like this Triforce thing very much._

Link sighed and closed the journal, then tucked it under his mattress. He changed clothes, laid down, and tried to sleep, but it wouldn't come. His mind roamed in circles, and his eyes wouldn't stay shut. He couldn't get comfortable. After awhile, he just gave up and decided to count the seconds until morning, or until came in to go to sleep, whichever was going to come first that day.

He had counted to one hundred and twelve before Navi came up to bed. As usual, she landed on the nightstand next to his bed. She saw that he was awake and said, "You know, it doesn't change a thing, and I'm not really surprised."

"It doesn't and you're not?"

"Of course not."

"To which one?"

"Both. I say it doesn't change things because you've still got a job to do, Hero of Time," she reminded him. "Hyrule still needs your help. You're not any different than you were before. Just a little more special."

"That's what Saria used to tell me when I got picked on for not having a fairy. I wasn't different from the other kids, just special. One day I'd get a fairy better than everyone else's." Link paused, then he grinned reluctantly. "She was right."

Navi grinned back at him. "I say I'm not surprised," she continued, still beaming, "because Saria was right. You _are_ special. Even with all you've done, you're not cocky, and even with all that you went through, you haven't given up yet."

"Don't even," Link said to the ceiling. "We all went through it together, remember? You, and Sheik, and me."

"And Malon and Talon and Kara and Johan, wherever he is."

"And Saria and Impa and Darunia and Rauru."

"And Ruto," Navi said, and she burst into giggles.

Link rolled his eyes. "And Ruto."

"To think we've only got one more sage to rescue," Navi whispered. "Then...."

"Then what? We go and ask Ganondorf if he would please do us all a favor and jump off a cliff?" Navi's light reflected off of Link's eyes, making their blue seem lighter than usual. He ran his hands distractedly through his sandy hair, with that touch of red in it, and let his breath out in a long, slow hiss. Navi laughed a little and then spoke, her tone of voice serious.

"We seal him away. That'll take a little force on your part. You might even have to kill him."

"Kill him? I can't kill anyone, Navi. I'm not a murderer." The words escaped his lips before he could stop them. He rolled over to his side, facing away from Navi.

Navi frowned. He seemed like he was trying to deny it. Sensing something was wrong, she asked, "Why do you say that?"

Link couldn't figure out how to say the words without sounding stupid. "I guess...I guess I said it because I really am, I just don't want to admit it."

Navi frowned. "You killed someone?"

"Two someones."

"Who?"

Link rolled over and buried his face in his pillow. "My parents," he said miserably, his voice sounding muffled.

Silence.

"Oh, Link, no," Navi said softly after a moment. "No. You didn't kill them, Link, Ganondorf did."

"But it was my fault. If they had just handed me over, then I would have died and they'd still be here!"

"You were four moths old, you can't blame yourself for them dying. And, if it hadn't been for them, Hyrule wouldn't have dreams right now, wouldn't have wishes for something better," Navi said. "You're not a murderer, Link, you're a fallen land's last hope for peace."

"Way to take off the pressure," Link muttered into his pillow. "And anyway, even if I'm not a murderer, I still killed my own—it's still my fault."

"No it isn't."

Link decided to change the subject. "You think I can do it?"

"Do what?"

"Get rid of Ganon. For good. Get a grip on this Triforce thing." He sat up on his elbows, and turned his head toward the window to admire the stars. They were the only thing in Hyrule that Ganon hadn't been able to spoil the beauty of.

"I have faith," Navi responded, sounding a little different than normal. She wasn't bickering or playing or telling someone what to do, she was having a normal conversation, and she was dead serious.

"Faith," Link responded dully, letting his face drop back to the pillow. "Really, Navi, what is faith?"

"Faith is trust in things unseen. And it's all we have left. Faith, hope, and a little luck."

They stayed quiet for a minute. Navi thought Link had finally fallen asleep, until he spoke.

"I have to ask you something," he whispered, rolling back over to look at the ceiling.

"Shoot."

"You remember the dream about the drawbridge?"

Navi searched her memory. It had been much longer for her than it had been for him.

"Yes," she said finally.

"I'm having another...dream. That I keep forgetting. Someone's dying, and then there's these rocks, falling everywhere. But before the rocks, there's glass. It always breaks and I cut my hand. The one with this on it." He indicated the triangle mark on his right hand. He scratched it out of habit. "I remember seeing it in the dream. It's really red. From the blood from the cut. But it didn't click until you guys told me I had it...."

"Is that all you can remember? Do you know who died?"

"No, and it scares me."

"Try not to worry about it," Navi said. "We have a huge day ahead of us tomorrow."

The prospect of what tomorrow meant made Link's eyes shine in the darkness. "I can't wait," he said. "The last sage, and then we fight Ganon. And then Hyrule is free."

Little did he know then, but the following days would hold a lot more than Link could have ever imagined; they would not only bring the last sage, but destiny, life and death, and they would reveal secrets that had been kept for seventeen years. But Link was oblivious to these facts, and eventually his eyes closed, and he let the dreamless sleep claim him.

And for that reason, neither he or Navi saw the shooting star fall down to the earth, looking like it was headed straight for Lon Lon Ranch.

- - -

Because he had gone to bed earlier than he usually did, Link woke up earlier than he usually did. He helped Malon start breakfast, in a much better mood than he had been the previous night. He had talked all the misery out of him, and he was ready. Ready to fight, ready to rescue the last sage, ready to save Hyrule.

He hid under the staircase when Sheik came downstairs, then jumped out and scared her while her guard was down. She shrieked, and woke up Navi, whose grouchiness evaporated quickly, due to Link's god mood. It was contagious. Link cracked jokes during breakfast, one right after another, and soon had Sheik and Navi joking with him. Malon couldn't stop laughing; it was like stand-up comedy to her.

Link went to the barn to get Epona, and Sheik hissed at Navi, "What did you _do_ to him, anyway?"

"I'm not really sure," said Navi, laughing. "But it worked, didn't it?"

Sheik grinned. "Yeah. You go on, keep Link from leaving without me, would you?"

"'Kay." Navi flew out the window.

Sheik turned to Malon, who looked extremely worried.

"Do you have to go?" she said. "They're Gerudo! They'll kill you as soon as they would look at you!"

"Link told me there are good Gerudo and bad Gerudo," Sheik said. "And that he knew a Gerudo woman once who might be able to help us, by the name of Kylia. Look, just because their people ruined Hyrule doesn't mean they're all evil. You have to look past that, or you're racist."

"I know, but it isn't easy...."

"I know it isn't. It isn't easy for me either. But I'm going to have to give it a shot. Remember, the next sage will be a Gerudo. Please don't worry about us, we'll be fine, okay?"

"All right...."

Sheik and Malon hugged, then Sheik went out to the barn to get Star. Link was there already. He had tried to leave before her, but Navi, obeying Sheik's wishes to keep Link in the barn until she was ready, had claimed it was because Link was afraid of the cows, and after that, he'd stayed just to prove her wrong.

"Can we go now?" Link said. "I am so ready to throw my life away at the Gerudo Fortress so we can rescue the sage."

Sheik laughed. "Sure, we can go. But we'll have to be _careful_, okay?"

"All right, all right."

Like the wind, they rode to Gerudo Valley. The grass grew sparser, and the sun beat down on them, hotter than ever before. The horses began to kick up dust as they ran, and the plantlife became more lethal looking, just like everything else. Link was sure they were heading for trouble, but he kept a sharp eye out for anything that might attack them.

At last, a brown rock formation became visible. It made a small tunnel to the real Gerudo Valley. While riding through it, Sheik voiced something that had her a little worried.

"Link, do you realize we're rushing into enemy territory without any kind of _plan_?"

"Yeah," Navi said, "We're gonna get killed, if don't stop and think about what we're trying to—"

They all stopped. Ahead of them was a beautiful scene: a small plank served as a bridge to cross a tiny pond that had a waterfall flowing into it. The pale blue water sparkled in the desert sun; and the plantlife around the tiny oasis was lush and green. The reddish brown rock formation was dusted with sand, and went beautifully with the sapphire sky. However, in front of them was a huge crevice, and at the bottom, dangerous looking rapids. There had once been a bridge across the place, but it looked as if someone had cut it within the last few days. It dangled above the sparkling waters, swaying slightly in the hot wind. It was a beautiful deathtrap.

"Well," Link said, "We officially have a problem."

- - -

_Seven days ago, in the Spirit Temple_

Kylia sat at the small writing desk and looked over Ani's letter. The letter had only come a few minutes ago, and everyone in Gerudo Valley seemed to be doing fine. The tahscyte had arrived with several things, of course, but the most important had been the letter.

Tahscytes were desert birds. The word came from the Gerudo term meaning, "demon of the sand." The birds truly looked the part; their feathers were all sand colored, except for the tips of their wings and their eyes, which were bright red. They were faithful to all Gerudo, and could easily be trained. However, they were proud creatures, and it took equally proud people to train them. The Gerudo women who trained the tahscytes were excellent at their job; and the small but powerful birds would go to any lengths to protect them.

Kylia sighed, got up from the desk, and sat down on the bed. She had set up her living quarters right near the front door of the Spirit Temple, so she could see someone from the entrance, and to be closer to the outside. She missed going outside a great deal, but she was a sage, and she did have to protect her temple. She was cheered by the news that Ani and a couple of other people would be coming to visit soon. Ani usually came twice a week, but lately, things had been going so badly that she'd had to stay at the Fortress. Kylia had insisted that her people not be without a leader.

Things had been going so badly because several people had been caught trying to get in the fortress. They were Gerudo, spies of Ganon's, and Kylia knew if one got in them all of Gerudo Valley would fall apart. No one would believe that some Gerudo were trying to help instead of hurt, and Gerudo, whether or not they wore the armbands, were looked upon with hate and spite, no matter where they went.

It was partly because of this that they hadn't ever been able to do anything to help Hyrule. And it was partly because whenever they tried to attack Ganon, he would his in that damn tower, surrounded by the storm that had killed some of her best women—and some of her friends.

_And it's all Ganon's fault,_ Kylia thought angrily. _Stupid bastard._ _Din, I hate him...._

Her life for the first months of being back at Gerudo Valley had been slightly awkward, but she had wasted no time in proving that she was a capable leader, and nothing like her father. She had brought up the records in the archery and swordplay challenges a great deal, made sure that the amount of people who had made it successfully through the Training Dungeon had doubled, and had also been a good authoritave figure. She had never been too tough on anyone, but let them know she was not to be pushed. Most of her friends at Gerudo Valley respected her, and they had all gotten over the fact that the man—no, the monster—who tore their world apart was her father.

The room was comprised of one large platform, which had two tunnels leading away from it. One had been blocked by a huge boulder, and the other was open, but a tight fit. A thick red rug still covered the floor, and the sturdy sand colored bricks were glazed over with a glassy substance that made them even sturdier, and a lot more pleasing to the eye. The ceiling was too high to see clearly.

Kylia heard movement near the tunnel that had been blocked by the boulder. She went up the stairs in the room slowly, her excellent stealth instincts kicking in. The rich red rug that covered part of the stairs and floor muffled her footsteps. Her heart pounding, she peeked at the tunnel from the top of the stairs.

There was nothing there.

This wasn't right. Kylia walked slowly to the boulder, feeling anxiety. Something had been there, she just knew it.

All of the sudden, the boulder burst into a thousand pieces. Kylia jumped and backed away slowly. Two figures came flying out of the tunnel, on—on _broomsticks_. They were old women, one with hair made of ice, and the other with hair made of fire.

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my temple?" Kylia yelled angrily. She rushed down the stairs and grabbed her scimitars, and prepared for a battle.

"I'm Koume," the fire-headed witch cackled, "and this is my twin Kotake. We're here for that medallion of yours. And for you."

"Not in this lifetime," Kylia snarled.

Koume shot a blast of fire at Kylia; she dodged the flames easily. Kotake cackled and shot an ice spell. The ice was melted over the fire, and the floor became wet. Kylia slipped and fell three seconds later, while trying to dodge another spell. She quickly got to her feet and tried to throw off the next spell—ice—with her sword. The sword froze, and when it was shot with fire, melted. Kylia tried to do the same with a fire spell, but the sword grew hot and melted in her hands. She was now alone and weaponless. She ran to the tunnel that the sisters had unblocked, hoping for escape, but she slipped again on the water and fell. This time, she did not get to her feet quickly enough, and was frozen in place by an ice spell.

That was when the ancient witches began the assault of her mind....

Powerless to stop it, Kylia lay there, in a dazed trance, while the witches went to work. She couldn't fight the control that they were using. They manipulated her fears and weakness; fed on her dreams and hopes until they were no more. And when Kylia emerged from the process, she was under their complete control; she had no willpower of her own. She was trapped, her mind was able to think for itself, but her body wouldn't go along. Her actions were what the witches told her to do and nothing else. Even her words could not be her own. And no matter how absurd her orders were, Kylia had no choice but to obey.

And so she experienced hell, as she willingly handed over her Spirit Medallion and became a slave of the person she hated the most in the world.

AN: Poor Kylia. ;-; It only gets worse in the next chapter. She's one of the coolest ppl to write about, tho, so I'm not complaining. And yes, Angel is a clone of my cat (Angela) and the way Malon acts around her is the way I act around my kitty. Anyway, I hope you liked it, and if you did, pretty please reveiw me. I'll love yous forevers. n,n Next chap should be up fairly soon, I hope. I don't think this fic is going to make it past 35 chaps...I'm so close! Ehh, anyway, see ya, till next chappie! Byes!  
  
PS, that thing about Link ad Malon, I made it SO obvious. if you don't get it by now you're about as smart as I am.  
  
- The Gemini Sage


	26. Chapter Thirty: Horseback Archery

Author's Notes: Hmm, not much to say except I told you I'd get this chap up quick, and thanks for all the reveiws. To clear something up, yes Nabooru was the sage of spirit in the game, but in this one she's Kylia's mother who was killed by Ganon, remember? Anyway thanks for all the reveiws (again) and I hope you like this longer than usual chappie.   
  
Btw, I hit one hundred reveiws! Omg! My two goals were to get to 100 reveiws and 2000,000 words. The first goal I met, but it looks like I'll have to wait for my second story to meet the second goal. On to the chapter!

Chapter Thirty: Horseback Archery

Ani finished her letter to Kylia and gave it to the tahscyte to deliver. She hadn't heard from her friend in days, and felt rather worried. Since she had told Kylia she was coming to visit, she had not received a response. She wrote daily anyway, each letter growing more concerned.

Finally, she decided that she was going to the temple to see for herself what had happened. She took two other women with her, Tara and Jai. Both were excellent warriors and good in emergency situations. They were also friends of Kylia's, good friends, and had refused to be left behind.

Tara had long, thick hair. She usually wore it in a loose ponytail that fell to her waist or in a knot behind her head, and her scimitars were hanging over her shoulder in their sheaths. This was quite unlike most women, who wore theirs on their backs. She wore long red pants made out of a thing red silk that hung low on her waist, and her top was a little less than conservative.

Tara was easy to anger, and an offensive warrior, a dangerous but not uncommon combination in Gerudo Valley. Though her temper was quick, however, she always remained serious and she could follow orders, and her skills with the sword were exceptional. Tara usually didn't care how much damage she took; so long as the other person took more, it was fine. Tara could be a bit fickle, sometimes, but once she had made up her mind about something, she stuck to it, and nothing would stop her. She was an excellent archer, and could hit a target dead center while riding on the back of a horse that was running like the wind.

Jai was the complete opposite. Her clothing was purple, like most, but it was a bit more conservative. She had short hair, that fell down to the middle of her back, and it was usually held up in a swishing ponytail. Her top didn't show as much cleavage as Tara's, though it did show some, and her pants, made of tougher cloth than silk, didn't hang nearly as low on her waist.

Jai was extremely loyal, but not quite as good at fighting. She would defend herself before seeing to it that she took down her foes. However, if a friend was in danger, like in the situation at hand, she threw her defenses and her strategies to the wind. Her intelligence and strategic thinking, however, had come in handy on more than one occasion, and more than made up for her lack of physical abilities. Because of her weakness in sword fighting, she had learned and was excellent at martial arts, which required no sword and little strength. She had even beaten Kylia at it, once or twice. Jai was caring, light hearted, and a real joker; she hardly ever lost her temper or her cool, and for that, Ani thought she was an excellent person to take along on the trip.

Ani wore her usual white uniform. It wasn't quite as revealing as Tara's, but like Jai's, it wasn't completely innocent, either. Her short hair hung loose and fell down to her shoulders. She had never liked it long; the only time she had grown it out was when she had gotten Kylia from the Inn. She had only done it then because she needed a disguise. She had also worn the pink clothing, which she found revolting. But it had been necessary. Even so, she had cut her hair the minute she got back to Gerudo Valley, much to the amusement of the other women. Long hair was too much of a hassle for her.

Ani was rather sharp-tongued and quick witted, and her temper flared easily, but it usually wasn't severe and it never lasted too long. She was kind at heart, but never one to admit it, and she was an excellent thief. She was the new leader of the Gerudo, since Kylia had become trapped in the Spirit Temple, but took all her orders from Kylia directly. She didn't know how to lead anything, and Kylia did, but she felt honored that Kylia had chosen her as the one to relay her orders from the Spirit Temple back to Gerudo Valley.

Jai, Tara, and Ani didn't talk on the way to the temple, except to point out landmarks. They were all worried about Kylia, and they were prepared to fight anything that had hurt her or even killed her. Ani did not like admitting the possibility, but she had never fooled herself before, and she wasn't going to do it now. However, she did cling to the hope and the knowledge that Kylia was a fighter, and would not have been killed too easily.

When they reached the temple, they dismounted their horses and walked cautiously towards the door. They didn't know what to expect, or what they would find.

"Kylia?" Ani called, as she exited the heat of the sun and entered the Spirit Temple. "'Lia, you in here?"

Ani heard footsteps behind her and whirled around. It was only Jai and Tara.

"You know," said Jai, "I think you're a little paranoid. We're not going to kill you while you're not looking. We'll at least wait and do it to your face."

Ani tried to laugh. Tara, on the other hand, gave Jai a skeptical look.

"We're s'posed to be on alert, you know? Enough fooling around!"

Jai gave a prolonged sigh and rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Ani walked over to Kylia's living space. There was no sign of a struggle. The letter she had sent telling Kylia of her visit lay open on the bed, and the other letters, the ones that had never gotten a response, lay shut on the floor.

"This isn't right," Ani said. She walked up the stairs and gasped.

Here was the signs of a struggle. Part of the rug had been burnt, while the hard floor had scorches on it. Some places were wet, and in the case of the rug, moldy. There were several marks that indicated someone being dragged away, and the carpet was also ripped in several places, as if by a knife or a sword. Even the boulder that usually blocked the right tunnel had been shattered.

"Not good," said Jai, sounding worried. "Not good at all."

"Jai, go through the small tunnel and see if you see anything. Tara, go through the place where the boulder exploded. The first to find Kylia yells real loud, yeah? I'm going back outside to look around."

Tara and Jai obeyed their orders without question. Jai, being small and petite, easily slipped through the small tunnel, and Tara went through the large one. Ani walked back over to the bed, then outside into the sweltering heat.

"Kylia, if you die, girl, I'm going to kill you," Ani muttered. She walked around to the oasis, then back around to the hidden cave. Finding nothing, she went back inside. She had been in there ten minutes when Jai came back, reporting she hadn't seen anything unusual. They were just considering whether or not to follow Tara, when they heard a loud clang.

Sword on sword. Ani knew that sound as good as she knew her own name. But where was it coming from?

Then she heard a voice, coming from the tunnel Tara had taken.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I'm your _friend_, remember?" Another clang.

Jai and Ani stood up, and were about to rush down the tunnel, but the scene came to them. Tara was fighting another Gerudo woman, and losing—the woman was Kylia. Tara had to back away with every step Kylia took towards her, unwilling to hurt her friend and leader. She blocked all of Kylia's blows, or dodged them. When she saw Ani and Jai, she yelled, "Help me, wouldja? She's trying to kill me!"

Ani and Jai moved up the stairs, and tried to reason with Kylia. But she wouldn't listen. She just kept attacking, her brown eyes gaining a reddish tint. She knocked Tara to the floor, where she lay still and unmoving, and Ani grew angry and fearful. What had happened to her friend?

"What's the matter with you?" Ani yelled angrily. "You're trying to kill your own friends!"

_I know,_ Kylia thought, _I_ _know it and I'm sorry! But I can't help it! They're forcing me to! Oh, __Tara__, please don't be dead, I'd never forgive myself—_

"I don't understand it!" Ani said to Jai, dodging another attack. "Why is she doing this?"

"Maybe she's having an off day," Jai suggested. Then her eyes widened, and she ducked, to avoid losing her head to Kylia's blade.

"Maybe," said Ani. "But maybe not, yeah? C'mon, we'll only be safe from her if we get out of the whole damn temple! Distract her, okay, I'll get Tara!"

Jai looked helplessly at Kylia, and ducked again.

"_Distract_ her?"

"Yes!"

"Hi," Jai said to Kylia, grinning uneasily. "Aah, it's a nice day, isn't i—whoa! Look, watch where you put that, I'd like to keep my head attached to my shoulders, if you don't mi—"

"C'mon, Jai!" Ani yelled from the door. Jai rushed to catch up with her. Kylia chased them out the door, but, as usually happened when she tried to leave, she was enveloped with an orange light and thrust back into the temple. She stood as close to the door as she could get, glaring at them.

Ani managed to wake Tara, who had only been unconscious. Tara sat up and glared at Kylia.

"Maybe she _is_ like Ganon," Tara spat, glaring daggers at Kylia.

Kylia's mind went blank at the remark, but her body just kept glaring back.

_I'm not,_ Kylia thought. _I'm sorry, __Tara__. I'm not like him, I'm sorry! I thought I had proved myself to you. But I guess I was wrong._

"That's not true," Jai insisted at once. "But she sure has gone off the deep end."

"Something's controlling her," Ani said quietly. "And it got her medallion. We'd better go before she starts throwing things at us, come on."

Her friends looked back at her with remorse and anxiety, then dismounted their horses and rode away into the swirling sands of the desert. Kylia's last hope to be saved rode away with them, but the remark Tara made stayed with her.

Inside, Kylia was screaming, but on the outside, all she could do was glare.

- - -

Link gazed at the gap between them and the last temple. He patted Epona, and then asked Sheik, "How good is Star, anyway? At jumping?"

"Oh, Link, you're not thinking of—"

"Yeah I am! Is she any good?"

"She's a great jumper."

"Good. Sheik, Navi, I'll see you on the other side." He grinned. "Give the last sage my regards if I don't make it."

"That's not funny," Navi said, laughing. "Just do it."

Link backed Epona up, and then took off. Right as Epona neared the edge, she jumped. Link soared over the gap and landed beautifully on the other side. Epona reared up and whinnied, showing the world how proud of herself she was.

Navi cheered. Soon, Star had crossed the gap along with Epona and they were at the valley. They dismounted the horses, leaving them under the shade of a stone over hang, and walked down a path that had been cut into a rock face ahead of them. Soon, the towering Gerudo Fortress came into view.

"Wow," whispered Sheik. "It's huge."

"Yeah," Link whispered back. "But about our plan...."

"Yeah," Navi whispered. "We should probably make a plan. What are we doing?"

"Trying to find the Spirit Temple," Link murmured.

"Which is in the desert," Sheik added.

"So we should just waltz up to somebody and ask them where it is?"

"No!" Sheik and Navi said together.

"They're Gerudo, you idiot. They'd kill you as soon as look at you," Navi said.

Why did everyone keep saying that? They were just people, weren't they? What was so different about them, except the color of the hair and skin? The fact that a few of them decided to work for Ganon, yes, but Hylians could have done that just as easily. People were prejudiced against them, because of their race, Link decided, and it wasn't right or fair. Kylia had been one of the nicest people he had met, and she was a Gerudo. They weren't all the same. Each one of them was different, and made separate choices, like Hylians. So what was the big deal?

"You guys need to chill out," Link said forcefully.

"We have to figure a plan," said Sheik. "Or they'll catch us, and put us in their jail."

"Too late," said a female voice.

Link, Sheik, and Navi turned around in horror to find three Gerudo guards, all wearing purple uniforms with masks, staring right at them, their scimitars pointed directly at their captives' throats.

- - -

Ani lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. How could this have happened? Kylia was one of her best friends. Yet she had attacked to kill. And something in her eyes....

Ani shuddered. The eyes had had a reddish tint, but they had still remained brown, for the most part. Ani had only seen Kylia's eyes turn red once, and that was the day that she had confronted Ganon, after the storm around his tower killed seven women.

They had all been standing in the Market, the scum filled, redead infested Market, Ganon blocking the path to his tower, and Kylia and the survivors near the path leading to the broken drawbridge. He had just massacred the Gorons and Zoras, and there he stood, laughing at the death of seven of Kylia's friends. He had known all along who she was, Nabooru's daughter, therefore his daughter, and had taunted her in front of her entire army about it. She had gotten so angry that she had rushed forward, and tackled him. They had a fight, a very lengthy sword battle, and, just when it looked like Kylia was winning, he flew away, back to his damn tower, and escaped.

But when Kylia had turned back to her women her eyes had been a deep, cold, blood red. A red that matched Ganon's. They had returned to brown almost at once, but for that moment, when they had been red, Kylia had almost defeated the Evil King. And for that, all her women grew to respect her and the potential magical powers she could have, but refused to use.

But her eyes had tried to stay brown at the temple. Which must have meant that Kylia knew what she was doing, and it was against her will. Something must have been controlling her, and she had at least made the effort to try and hold back. So she hadn't done this of her free will. But it still presented a problem. Their leader had suddenly gone mad, and Ani wasn't capable of doing it without Kylia's orders and advice.

Kylia was their friend. Not just their leader, but their friend. And now they had lost her. But what could they do to undo what had been done?

A knock came from Ani's door, interrupting her brooding.

"Ani!" someone called. "You in there?"

"Go away, please, my head hurts, you know?" said Ani.

"It's urgent, Ani. We found some intruders."

Ani opened the door.

"Are they more of Ganon's?" she asked wearily, as the guard led her to the jail outside.

"I don't think so. They're not Gerudo. They're a Hylian man, a dammed Shekiah man, and a fairy."

"A fairy? Those aren't real, you know?"

"I thought so too, but...."

"What did you do with it?"

"Put it in a bottle."

"Did you strip them of their weapons?"

"_C_," the woman said, using the Gerudo term for yes. "We also found their horses and took them. Those are some wild beasts!"

"Really? Well, you've done a good job. Go back to your post and tell everyone I'm handling it. Thank you, Mirya."

"No problem, Ani."

Ani climbed the ladder to the jail. She looked down in the pit and saw a figure dressed in green, earnestly whispering to another figure, dressed in blue and white. A bottle sat in the other corner of the room, with white light emitting from it. The whisperings had stopped the moment Ani had appeared.

"Don't get any funny ideas," Ani called down. "Even if you make it out of there, we have your weapons and your horses. You're in the middle of a damn desert without food or water. You'll live longer if you don't try any cute stuff, comprehend me?"

"I comprehend that I want out of here!" shouted the person in green. His hands were tied behind his back, as were the other person's.

"What's your name, kid?" Ani said, recognizing stubbornness when she saw it.

The figure remained quiet. Ani decided it was time to take measures a little more forceful. Catlike, she jumped down into the pit and walked over to the bottle, which swore at her.

"You like to find out what happens if I throw this in the sand river?" Ani asked, picking up the swearing bottle and inspecting it.

"No," said the person in green.

"Then tell me your name, yeah?"

"Why?"

"Because if you don't then that's where this bottle is going."

"Link," the figure said at once.

"And him?"

"Sheik." Link looked away from his captor, angry at himself for revealing information. But whatever the sand river was, it didn't sound good, and he didn't want anything to happen to Navi.

Ani smiled. "So this is the famous freedom fighter, and the man that Ganon wants dead. Now what would you two and a fairy be doing at our fortress, hmm?"

No one answered. Ani tossed the bottle in the air and caught it again.

"I _said_," she said menacingly, "What are you doing here, hm?"

"None of _your_ business," the bottle said.

"It damn well is my business!" Ani snapped. "This fortress is not a park, it's not a public playground, nor is it a damn daycare, and kids like you ought to keep out! You're lucky those guards threw you in jail, I've given them permission to kill intruders on sight!" This was a bluff, of course, but no one knew that but her. "Now tell me why you're here, or you'll all die."

There was still silence.

"I'll give you one hour," Ani said. "One hour to make up your mind." She whistled, and a rope dropped down from above. She climbed it quickly, and exited the jail without another word.

"We're _really_ in trouble now," Link said. "I can't believe this!"

"I can," Navi said sadly. "The question is, should we talk or not?"

"Talk!" huffed an impatient voice from above the pit. "I thought you had better sense!"

"Who the hell is that?" Link said.

"I dunno, ask," Sheik said.

"Who the hell are you?" Link called up. Navi had to bite her lip to keep from laughing, despite Link's language and the situation.

As catlike as the Gerudo woman's motions had been, a figure in a cloak jumped down into their prison. He swiftly walked over to Sheik and began untying her wrists.

"Hello to you too," he said. He finished untying Sheik and began working loose the knots binding Link. When Link was free, he grabbed the bottle and uncorked it, letting Navi fly loose. Sheik began to massage her wrists where the ropes had cut into them.

"Now listen," the man said. "I know Gerudo law, a friend of mine explained it to me once. When Ani gets back, challenge her."

"To what? And how do you know her name?"

"Anything. Gamble your freedom and whatever else you'd like. But _make sure you win_," the man said urgently, choosing not to answer the second question. "Gerudo law says that a prisoner has a right to challenge. If she doesn't take it up, then she gets punished."

"But aren't you going to help us out of here?" Navi asked.

"No, just make you a little more comfortable. If you win, she'll be the one talking. And there's a lot we need to know. Have you heard anything about the Spirit Sage while you've been here?"

Link shook his head. "Nope."

"Neither have I. I haven't spoken to her in months. I'm becoming concerned. I just couldn't get in, because of the tightened security."

"You've been talking to her?"

"Yes, she's a friend of mine, the one who explained the Gerudo law. I think you know her, Link."

"Do I?"

"Yes."

"What's her name?"

"Kylia."

- - -

Ani checked the clock on the wall and decided that it was time. She walked back to the jail, accompanied by Jai. Jai had insisted on seeing the famous freedom fighter and the man that Ganon wanted dead for herself, and Ani had agreed, seeing that it was possible that they would both be dead within the next few minutes. She didn't really think they would let her kill them, but if they wouldn't talk, she had no choice. They had invited Tara, but she had sullenly refused, still in a bad mood from her fight with Kylia.

"About how old are they?"

"Your age. Maybe a little older."

"Oh."

"Do you think they're going to last long?"

"Oh, _c_, they're very stubborn."

Ani received a shock when she and Jai jumped down into the prison. Both of the prisoners were up and pacing around, and the bottle lay in broken shards at their feet. The fairy was riding on Link's shoulder.

"How did you get out of those ropes?" Ani asked.

"I'm lucky," Link smirked.

"Not today. Are you going to tell me what you were doing here or not?"

"Nope, I'm going to challenge you."

Ani's jaw dropped. "How did you know that law?"

"Kylia told me."

"And what do you know about Kylia?" Jai said slowly.

"Not telling," Sheik answered. "Listen, we do know this. You get to pick what we're challenged at. But please, I'm begging you, don't make it archery."

Link's eyes widened. That was his best skill, and she was trying to avoid playing it?

But before he could say anything, Sheik shot him a glare that warned him to be quiet.

"Actually, I think archery is a great idea," said Ani, and Link realized Sheik had used reverse psychology. "What are the stakes, hm?"

"Our freedom," Navi jumped in. "And our horses and our weapons. And information."

"And if you lose?" asked Ani, without skipping a beat.

"We'll tell you everything we know," Link said. "Without hassle. If we don't, you can kill us."

He held out his hand and Ani shook it.

"Deal," she said. "Be ready in ten minutes."

- - -

"Who's going to do it, you or him?" Ani asked Link.

They were in the sweltering heat of Gerudo Valley. Around them were an endless amount of targets. There was also an endless amount of people. All the Gerudo had turned out to watch. Sheik was being held at swordpoint, and Navi was in a bottle again. Their weapons and horses had been put to the side.

Link walked over to where the horses were and took Epona's reigns. Where she had been nervous before, she was now calmed by Link's voice and touch. He mounted her and got out his bow and arrows from the saddlebag.

Ani mounted a solid brown horse, that had a white face, and off-white hair. She too drew out a bow and arrows.

Then she took off around the track. She shot until her arrows had ran out. Every single one had hit a target, and most of them had hit them in the dead center. Link knew this would be harder than he thought. But he had to try. He had to try.

Link looked around at all the faces. Then he looked at all the targets. He knew he would have to hit every single one, dead center, to win.

Link took a deep breath and lightly nudged Epona's sides. She started galloping around the track.

He took quick but careful aim and shot an arrow. Without looking if it had hit or not, he shot the next one. Then another. In sixty seconds he had completed his lap around the track and had used up all his arrows.

"Did I do okay?" he murmured to Sheik as he dismounted Epona.

There was dead silence. Sheik didn't dare answer.

The woman who had counted the scores was muttering under her breath. She tallied it three times, then moved to the middle of the crowd.

"The winner," she declared, looking and sounding slightly dazed, "is...well...Link."

Silence. Then one or two people started clapping, and soon, everyone else joined in. Link grinned.

"Hey, will you let my friends go now?" he asked Ani.

She nodded mutely, then stuck out her hand. A slow smile spread over her face. "You're worthy, kid. You're the first one to beat me at that in years, you know? You hit every target dead center!"

Link shook her hand, trying not to look too surprised or pleased.

"Now come inside. We should talk."

Grinning, Link motioned over Sheik, and freed Navi from her glass prison. He followed Ani inside the fortress.

Tara and Jai had watched the entire show. Jai had told Tara about the strangers knowing Kylia, and they were now both interested to meet these people. So, knowing Ani wouldn't mind, they followed her and the strangers to what had once been Kylia's office.

Jai knocked on the door. Ani called for them to come in.

The office had a thick red carpet, and one small writing desk. It also had two red sofas, and a chair on each side of the desk. Ani was sitting on one sofa, and Link and Sheik were sitting on the other. Jai plopped down next to Ani, and Tara, amused at her boldness, took the seat nest to the desk. Everyone introduced everyone else to each other, and then Link got to the point of the matter.

"Soo," he said, "I beat you at archery. Now you have to give me back my weapons, my horse, and you have to tell me a few things."

"Like what?" Ani asked warily.

"Like where the Spirit Temple is, and what you know about the Spirit Sage."

Ani, Jai, and Tara all stiffened. Link gave them an odd look.

"You said you knew Kylia?" Jai asked quietly. "Well, she's the Spirit Sage. Four years ago, she disappeared into the temple."

"_Four_ years?" Sheik said. "But Ganon's tower was built _five_ years ago, and that's when the rest of the sages disappeared!"

Ani smiled. "Kylia fought it. Right up until that fight with Ganon, remember, Tara?"

Tara nodded. She had been there that day, though Jai, only being twenty, had been too young at the time to be allowed to go.

"Four years ago," Ani explained, "We went to Ganon's tower, to try and overthrow him. No one would help us because of our race, of course, so we were on our own. We lost seven women to that storm, then Ganon came out and taunted us. He...got Kylia mad," she finished lamely, not wanting to tell them the truth.

"I knew Kylia," Link said, frowning, "She didn't seem very hot tempered. What did he say?"

"Something she would not want me to mention," Ani muttered.

Link raised his eyebrows, but didn't question any further. All he said was, "And then what?"

"Well , they fought, and right when she was about to win, he ran off. Coward!" Ani spat. "After that she disappeared. We hadn't even got back to the fortress and she was gone. She had warned me it might happen, though, so I knew where to look. The Spirit Temple. Now I want you to tell me something, hm?"

"Not making any promises," Navi said, "but what?"

"When you said other sages...what do you mean? Are there more?"

Link grinned at Sheik, who grinned back through her mask.

"What do you think? Should we tell them?"

"Why not?"

"I dunno. Hey," Link added to Ani, "these two okay? Can they be trusted with something we don't want going around?"

"Of course," Ani answered. "So, tell me...there are more sages?"

"Hell yes," Sheik said. "There are six sages of Hyrule. And when we unite all six...."

"_C_? What will happen?"

"We'll have the power to destroy Ganondorf."

"Really?" said Jai.

"Sure," Link said. "It's what we've been working at for almost three months now. Kylia is the last sage we need to get in the Sacred Realm."

"Then you have a real problem," Tara said sourly. She had until now remained quiet, but, as usual, her hurt had turned quickly into anger. She was no longer upset that Kylia had attacked her, on the contrary; she was furious.

_It would serve Kylia right if they did know the truth_, she thought.

"Why?" Link asked. "She knew me, she might even remember me, and maybe we'll have an easy job for once."

"You're out of luck, kid," Tara spat. "She doesn't even remember her own best friends. I just got finished losing a damn fight to her in the Spirit Temple! Her damn eyes turned red and she knocked me out! We've known each other since we were eight years old and then she goes and tries to kill me! She doesn't even have her damn medallion anymore, so you might as well give up!" Tara's voice broke and she turned away.

The room was quiet. Link thought he heard a creak at the door, but no one noticed it, so he put it out of his mind.

Jai, being the sensitive person she was, stood up, walked over to Tara, and hugged her. Then she sat back down like it had never happened.

But Sheik was beginning to put the pieces together in her mind. Kylia's eyes had turned red, and there was only one possible explanation for that. But could she trust someone with Ganon's blood?

She decided to test her theory.

"Why," Sheik said slowly, "Did Kylia's eyes turn red?"

All three Gerudo women in the room looked at the floor. Link frowned at Sheik a few minutes before it clicked, and felt very glad he was sitting down; his knees had just gone weak.

"I told you," said Ani, "That is not something she would want me to mention."

"Why? Look, I'm not stupid. She's related to Ganondorf, isn't she? C'mon, Link won at archery, you have to talk. Is she related to Ganondorf?"

Ani looked away. "I'll kill you one day for making me say it." An empty threat, of course, but still fueled by anger.

"I don't care," Sheik said. "Say it. They related?"

"_C_."

"How?"

Silence.

"_How?_"

"She's his daughter."

"Oh my _Goddesses_."

- - -

He was standing outside the door when they asked about the eyes. He heard every word of what they said. But it didn't matter, because he knew about Kylia's father. He had found not once, but twice. Once while he was still who he used to be, and once while he wearing his cloak. Kylia had told him the second time. He had found out from Ani the first.

He did not, however, know about the mind control. But he did know that she was a sage. He had figured it out when he donned his cloak. And he knew that was the reason she had never come back.

_All I have left of her is this,_ he thought, pulling a knife out of his pocket.

- - -

"You can stay here tonight," Ani said, leading Link, Sheik, and Navi into a roomy bedroom. It had two double beds, on the opposite sides of the room. Link and Sheik both stiffened when they realized that Ani was making them share a room—it was, of course, because she thought they were both male.

"We'll all leave for the Spirit Temple tomorrow morning, it's nearly dark now. Are you hungry?"

"Nah," Link said.

"All right then. See you tomorrow, hm?" Ani left the room.

Link, trying to make the best of the awkward situation, immediately claimed the bed on the left side of the room.

"For left handers," he explained. "If I'm not on the left I'll die."

Sheik laughed. But it only lasted a little while. She grew serious and asked, "Can you believe that son of a redead had a daughter?"

"Sadly, yes," Link said. "But she's really nice, his complete opposite. I'm not holding it against her. She can't help it her father is an asshole."

"Link!" said Navi. "Watch your mouth!"

"Shhh."

"No. Your language is terrible. You ought to be scolded."

"No, I mean shut up!" Link said. "I'm trying to hear."

There came a tapping noise from the window. Link walked over and opened it. A cloaked figure stood below the three story high fortress, throwing rocks at the window to get their attention.

"Hi," Link called softly. The desert sunset made the sky look like fire, so he could see the man quite clearly, except, of course, his face.

"Hi," the man said. "Toss me the hookshot, I want to talk to you three. And you keep that mirror where it is."

"Sure," said Link. He walked over to his bed and picked up his bag that had his weapons in it. While pretending to rummage around in it, he told Sheik and Navi who was at the window. Navi suggested getting the Lens of Truth, but unfortunately for Link, he had left it at Lon Lon Ranch. Besides, he had already been warned not to use it.

Link walked back to the window and tossed the hookshot down. The man was in the room within ten seconds.

"I can't stay long, they might catch me," he said grimly. "I heard what went on. Listen, give me your map so I can write the next song on it. You'll need it if you get lost in the desert."

Link wordlessly handed over the map, and another song was written on the back.

"I have to go," the man said, "But I'll be in touch."

  
With that, he jumped out of the window. Link rushed over to see if he had hurt himself, but there was nothing there. He had vanished.  
  
AN: I sure am taking my sweet time actually getting to the temple part. But oh well. Two, maybe three chapters from now, you'll all find out who the cloaked man is, and the Link/Malon thing! Though you should know already, both have been made painfully obvious. Or maybe just to me cause I'm the author. Either way, it'll be awhile till the next chap, so enjoy this one. Thanks again for the reveiws. More would be highly welcome. Byes!

-- The Gemini Sage  
  
EDIT: I foprget to replace the stars. Ooops.


	27. Chapter ThirtyOne: Kylia, Spirit Sage

Author's Notes: ::cries:: This took ages. Every time I got into a good place to write, I'd get interrupted. Anyway, I hope it was worth the effort. I had this "almost done" for two days, so bear with me if it seems rushed or, like, happy one second, weird the next. I just couldn't get into a good sit. I don't get a moment's peace around here! I hope you enjoy it anyway, and thanks for all your reveiws, made me so happy. :D

Chapter Thirty-One: Kylia, Spirit Sage

_There he is. I can see him, better than before. It almost looks like—_

_But that can't be. I'm so sure he's dead already._

_And now he's falling again. He's dead, gone, not coming back. And I'm yelling, I'm angrier than I've ever been in my whole life. Why? Did I know him?_

_Now there's the glass breaking. I'm looking down at the triangle on my hand and it's been cut. It's blood red, cut from all the glass, and it's _glowing_. Then there's a scream. I don't remember that from before. She screamed. Who is that? I can't remember. She's so familiar though, with that pink dress, and all that blonde hair. But I can't remember her name._

_We're running now, the girl and me, and then there's the rocks. All the falling rocks. And I remember seeing him fall and I don't know what's happening, I'm so angry again I just can't think straight. But then I look at my sword and I can't think anymore, I don't why it looks like that. There's no other explanation except—but that can't be, I didn't, I wouldn't...._

_But even though I didn't, even though I wouldn't, it doesn't change the fact that the end of my sword is red—_

Link jerked awake and sat bolt upright in the bed with a sharp intake of breath. He was sweating slightly, and his sudden movements had woken up Sheik and Navi.

"Whassa matter, Link?" Navi mumbled.

"Nothing," he muttered.

"Sure?" Sheik said. "You look awful upset...."

"I'm fine, just had a—a weird dream."

This caught Navi's attention and she immediately knew what dream he was talking about. She waited until Sheik had fallen asleep, then telepathically asked him if he remembered any more about what had happened.

_No,_ Link thought. _Well, a little. There was a girl there. But I just can't remember what she looks like or who she is._

_Anything else?_ Navi asked.

_Just that I got angry after the person died. Really, really, angry_, Link thought. _And when the rocks started to fall, I looked at my sword, and—_

_Yes? _

_The end of it was stained red. With blood...._

_Blood? _Navi thought, alarmed.__

_Yeah,_ Link thought shakily._ Navi,_ _I think I killed somebody_.

- - -

Link continued to toss and turn all night, and woke up from the dream several more times. Each time it grew more vivid, more urgent. And just as he fell asleep near dawn, a voice in his head hissed in his ear the day of the tragedy. The gray rays of dawn's light shone weakly through the window, and the birds were just starting to chirp. And Link got the exact day of when his dream would take place, because that little voice in the back of mind otherwise known as the Triforce of Courage somehow knew.

Link lifted his head off of the pillow just enough to hear what the voice was telling him.

"Today," his own voice repeated in an inaudible whisper. "It will happen today."

And without any memory of what had just happened, of the vital information he had just heard and repeated, he fell back down on the bed, exhausted, closed his eyes, and thought no more.

- - -

Ani rolled over sleepily in her bed as the light of dawn penetrated the window. She didn't want to get up. But a sharp knock at the door made her open her eyes and ask, "Who is it?"

"Ani, it's Mirya, and we found some more intruders. It looks like Ganon's this time."

Ani shot out of bed and got dressed. She was at the door in two minutes, swearing violently.

"Take me to them, Mirya."

"They're in the jail, Ani," Mirya said, "and I think it's an accident they're here. They're all drunk." Mirya accompanied Ani to the jail, then went back to her post.

In the jail, there were two attendants. After Link's escape from his bonds, Ani had ordered that someone be in the cell with the prisoners at all times. This time two women were there. Five spies were in there also, all scowling. What was more, the entire room smelled strongly of alcohol; these women _had_ been drinking, and quite a bit, at that.

"What did you think you were doing?" Ani asked them when she got down the rope. "Ganon ought to know by now, he isn't getting any spies in here! Now talk, what were you going to go after this time? Well? Say it or I'll throw you straight in the sand river!"

"Let us die, then," one of the Gerudo said, hiccupping. "We were only going to give you a message."

"_C_, what's the message?"

"Before the sun sets," another woman slurred, with a shark-like grin on her face, "Ganon will've destroyed this place an' everyone—_hic_—in it. He's gonna have all of the Triforce, an' there's nothing you can do to stop him. He knows you got Zelda here somewhere, an' already s'more of us are on the way to git her!" All the women cracked up, as if it was the funniest thing in the world.

Ani's mouth fell open.

"What's more," another woman continued, choking back her laughter, "Ganon knows the holder of the Triforce of Courage will come out of their hiding place after Zelda's captured. He's looked everywhere in Hyrule for her except here, so this must be where she's at! An' he's comin' here, an' he's gonna kill every last one of ya!"

The cell burst into outrageous laughter. Ani looked disgusted.

"This," she said to the guards in the cell, "is the effect of drinking, far too much. If either of you ever end up like this I'll see to it that you'll wish you hadn't. Ganon has just revealed his plans to us, probably without even knowing it, the lousy jackass. And here we have five drunk women who are going to get killed if we send them back to Ganon, and I don't know what to do with them."

Ani sighed. "Today's gonna be a long day. You two, go find Mirya and tell her to put everyone on alert for an attack. Then get back here pronto, comprehend me? I'll stay with these lousy bitches until you're done."

- - -

There was a sharp rap on Link's door. Having just fallen asleep, he wasn't in any hurry to answer it Sheik, however, who had not been disturbed by nightmares of the future and had a decent night's sleep called, "Come in."

Ani entered the room. She looked over at Link's bed, where he was still snoring slightly.

"Don't mind him, he decided to try and learn how to make as much noise as possible during the night." Sheik threw a pillow at him. "Wake up, you idiot!"

Link poked his head up sleepily from the blankets. "Aww, do I have to?"

"Yes," said Ani. "It's important. Ganon's attacking here today, and he's coming after Zelda."

Link shot up out of the bed, and Sheik's head turned towards Ani so fast Link could have sworn he heard her neck creak.

"What?" they said together.

Ani explained about the drunk women in the cell, and how Ganon was guessing that the Gerudo women had somehow hidden Zelda in the valley. Link and Sheik began to relax, knowing that Ganondorf didn't know Sheik's true identity. When Ani had finished her story, they woke Navi up and explained the situation.

"So we're on our own," Navi said.

"Not exactly," Ani replied. "You can take Jai if you want to. But I need Tara here, she's a good fighter and if we can't head Ganon off we'll need her to stick around. She won't be happy about it, so don't mention it to her if you see her, yeah? I'm sure Jai would like to go, though."

They agreed, and trooped down to what Ani liked to call the Mess Hall for breakfast. The Mess Hall was an extremely large room attached to a small kitchen. It hand nothing on the floors or walls, and no furniture, except several long tables and several equally long benches.

They had chili and some kind of meat that had been soaked in some type of sauce for breakfast. Link enjoyed the chili, but when he ate the meat he choked and had to grab a glass of water. It felt like his tongue was on fire.

Ani laughed. "Spicy, isn't it? Maybe I should have warned you."

Tara and Jai walked into the Mess Hall then, saw Ani laughing, and asked what was so funny.

"He ate the meat, and he looked like he was about to die!"

Jai and Tara cracked up. So did Sheik.

"You try it," Link snapped at her. "If you think you're so funny, go on and eat it."

Sheik took a bite of the meat without hesitation, not even making a face as she swallowed it.

"Hey, this is good!" she said, sounding surprised.

By this time, the Gerudo women at the table were howling with laughter. Link didn't find it all that funny, especially since his tongue was still burning.

The situation got serious as Ani explained about Ganon's upcoming attack to Jai and Tara. Much to everyone's relief, Tara stated that she would not and could not go to the temple, and that Jai and Ani would have to go with Link instead.

"Nah, I gotta stay too," Ani said. "But Jai can go, if she wants."

"I don't know," said Jai slowly. "I mean, what if you guys need me?"

"They'll need you," Ani reminded her. "In case they get lost at the desert. By the way, Link, don't take your horses. They're not used to this heat and they'd die out there."

Link swore.

"It's okay," Jai said. "It's been windy, and walking would be safer anyway. And I'll go with you guys, make sure you don't kill yourselves getting to the temple, okay?"

"Sure," Navi mumbled sleepily from under Link's hat. She had been quiet until now because she had not gotten a lot of sleep either. Link's tossing and turning during the night had prevented her from falling asleep for very long.

"Let's go ahead and go," Link said, knowing that if Ganon did attack, they had better be ready with all six sages. He downed another glass of water and he, Jai, Sheik, and Navi went to the "supply room," as Jai called it, to get water and food, just in case.

Ten minutes later all four of them were in the swirling sands of the desert.

Link was worried that all the wind might mean a sandstorm, but Jai told him the sands were all this blinding. They passed a small river of quicksand along the way, and Link knew that was what happened to someone on death row in Gerudo Valley.

"Yeah," said Jai, when he asked her. "At least it used to be. But Kylia thought that was too harsh. She hardly ever sentenced anyone to death, so it wouldn't have to be used. Aah, I miss her," she added sadly.

The only landmarks in the shifting desert were the red flags. They stood tall, and the red cloth whipped in the wind. The four of them went from one flag to another, making their winding way through the desert. However, it was becoming more difficult to see, and Jai realized that there _was_ a sandstorm on the way, which wasn't a good thing. The sun beat down on them as Jai explained the situation, and even as she spoke, she had to raise her voice over the howl of the wind.

"We're almost to the shelter," she shouted, "But even if we ran, we wouldn't make it in time. Two minutes out in a sandstorm would kill us. I don't know what to do!"

Link looked helplessly at his companions. They were walking as the talked, but Link knew the efforts were pointless.

And then Navi, with her good eyesight, spotted a dark shape moving through the swirling sands. The howl of the wind prevented them from shouting, so they all ran up to the shape, hoping it was the shelter.

It wasn't.

It was a carpet, a flying carpet, that was hovering a foot above ground. And riding it was a man garbed in cloth, with only one eye, and both Link and Sheik recognized him at once.

"Poetrader!" they said together, and the power of their voices combined caused the man to look up and wave them over.

"Hello," he said over the wind when they reached him. "Sheik, lad, good to see you're all right."

Sheik grinned from under her mask.

"And this must be Link...you've grown a lot, boy, since the last time I saw you," Poetrader stated. "I'm having a little trouble, I can't find the damn shelter, and a storm is brewing. Do you happen to know which way I need to go?"

"We'll take you there," Jai said quickly. "If we can have a ride."

"Deal," Poetrader said gruffly. "Hop on, and hold on tight. You, girl, you get up here and help me navigate."

Link had never experienced anything like it. The carpet moved as if it was a flying horse, except the ride was a lot smoother. The carpet was stiff, but comfortable, and extremely fast, and they were at the shelter in no time flat. Flying so high up in the swirling winds hadn't been Link's idea of fun, but he was grateful to get in the round shelter before the storm began.

The shelter was built underground, made of solid stone. It went sixty feet deep, enough to make them feel slightly cool in the desert heat. It was very large, though one couldn't tell from looking at it from above ground. There had only been a door and a square room hardly big enough to stand in on ground level, but the place was large and complex underground, with several different rooms and one huge, spiraling staircase, and had many different exits.

Link didn't know why, but for some reason, the red carpet on the spiraling staircase made him feel sick to his stomach with unease. Like he had been in a place with a red spiraling staircase, and it was a place he never wanted to go to again.

But he shrugged it off as they entered one of the lower rooms. He got away from the stairs, and felt fine.

The room they had entered had one large couch in each corner, and, in the middle of the room, several armchairs all clustered together. Everyone took a seat in the char, and Jai started a fire in the fireplace to their right. She cursed as the storm raged outside.

"It'll be impossible to get to the temple now," she said. "The storm will have changed the way the desert looks. I don't know the way. Ani would be able to get there, but I can't."

"We have a backup," Link assured her. "I'll tell you about it in a minute."

Then he turned to Poetrader. There was a lot he wanted to ask the man. But he didn't know where to start.

"How come you left the Inn?" he asked finally. Navi and even Sheik waited for his answer with baited breath; Sheik had heard enough about Johan to be just as concerned for his safety as Link was. Jai just listened with a mixture between curiosity and confusion. She knew nothing of this story; no one had remembered to fill her in—but she had heard Kylia talk about a place called the Inn with a lot of fondness, and was inquisitive as to what it was all about.

Poetrader, who had been staring at a wall thoughtfully, looked at Link. "Why would you like to know?"

"I'm trying to track down Johan, if he's still alive." It hurt to say the words, it hurt to even think that the man he had grown so fond of in such a short span of time could be dead.

Jai was now doubly interested. Kylia had often spoke of a man named Johan, and how much she missed him.

"Well," Poetrader said slowly, "I left because Johan told me to."

"_What?_"

"Not two days after you left, he had a funny dream, and he told me to pack my things and get out. He said he was trying to save my life. He moved a few of his things up to that meadow, and told me to get out fast. Said I could stay at Lon Lon Ranch, for a little while. I asked him what he was going to do, but he wouldn't tell me. I left for Lon Lon and came back a week later, to see if he was okay. The place looked like a tornado had hit it, and like someone had tried to set it afire. I haven't heard from him since. The only living things left in that inn were the rats."

He frowned.

"On the way out," he said softly, staring thoughtfully at that wall again, "I met a stranger, who said Johan would be okay. I didn't know if I could trust the man or not, but I had no choice. I turned my back for two seconds and he left. I never saw that man again."

Link almost knew the answer to his question before he asked it. "What did the stranger look like?" he asked slowly.

"I don't know, boy. You see, he was wearing a cloak. And it covered him from head to toe."

- - -

They left sometime later, when the wind had died down. They filed out of the room quickly, eager to get going, and left the fire burning, knowing it would go out of its own accord soon. And the minute they had shut the door behind them, and man stood up from behind the couch. His worried eyes shone brightly in the firelight. He was wearing a cloak, but for once, the hood was down. No one ever saw him that way. No one ever had, and if he was lucky, no one ever would. He pulled the hood back up, put out the fire, and followed Link through the door.

- - -

"So tell me about this backup plan," said Jai. "Because I'm completely lost. I'm not even sure I could get back to Gerudo Valley."

"Are you coming with us?" Link asked Poetrader, ignoring Jai.

"No," he said. "I'm going to ride back to Hyrule on this carpet. Then I'm going to see if I can't find some safe haven, to take people when things start getting worse than they are. Good luck, and do your best to save Kylia. She means an awful lot to a lot of people. Well, goodbye. Thank you for our help. I hope we meet again." He got on the carpet, pulled the front end up, and it rose into the air out of sight.

"_Zaohyn_, friend of Kylia," Jai said softly, watching him go.

"_'Zaohyn'_?" Sheik repeated.

"It's Gerudo, for safe journey," Jai explained. "He's right. Kylia means an awful lot to a lot of people. We've gotta find her."

"Okay," Link said. He took out his ocarina and his map. "Everyone grab on."

Everyone grabbed each others' arms. Link laughed a little. He looked at the paper, memorized the notes, and on his ocarina, played the final song in the Ballad of Hyrule. As the notes of the Requiem of Spirit echoed through the vast desert, there was a flash of orange light, and the four of them were gone.

- - -

The Spirit Temple was cool, compared to the heated desert outside. The minute Jai saw where they were, she pulled out her scimitars.

"Be on your guard," she warned. "No one alive can beat Kylia."

"We'll have to see about that," Link muttered.

Jai looked over at him and raised her eyebrows. "She almost beat Ganon, and you think you can beat her?"

"I'm going to have to try."

Jai looked up at the high ceiling. She walked back to Kylia's bed and desk. Then she closed her eyes.

"Nabooru, watch over your girl. Goddesses, be with us," Jai murmured. "I hope they headed off Ganon's troops by now. If Kylia was there she would have done it."

A tear fell down her face. Jai wiped it away, turning away from her companions.

"Oh, Kylia," she whispered. "Kylia...."

The whisper traveled through the temple, vibrating off the walls, until it became a thousand times what it originally was.

"Kylia...."

It ran throughout every crack in the bricks, every stitch in the fine red rug.

"Kylia."

It flew down the passages and corridors, and eventually was heard by a set of ears attached to a person standing at the top floor of the temple, on the sand woman's hand.

"Kylia!"

Kylia heard her own name and tried to turn her head to the sound, but it was no good. The witches had control.

_Go find them,_ Koume's voice said in the back of her mind. _Kill them._

_No!_ Kylia thought stubbornly. She was getting stronger against the witches every hour, and though she could not move of her own will, she could refuse to move at their every whim.

_You'll do what you're told, girl,_ Kotake's voice said roughly. _Did you know your home is burning to ashes right now? Ganon is raiding the place. He's looking for Zelda. And all your friends will die._

_Shut up!_ Kylia thought. Zelda _isn't there. That's a lie! You're lying!_

Had she been talking, the last words would have come out as a scream, but she could not utter a sound.

_I'm lying?_ Kotake said dangerously. _Then why isn't your friend with them? The fighter, and the one you put in charge? They're gone. Not there. They're fighting. But they'll lose. And then they'll die._

_And,_ Koume added, wanting to gain more pleasure from Kylia's anguish, _It's all your fault. You got them angry at you by attacking them...they didn't want to help you...so they stayed behind._

_Too bad for them,_ Kotake said. _Too bad that you were so much like your father that you tried to kill your own friends._

_Shut up! I'm not like him! I hate him! I hate him!_

She wanted to scream, yell, cry, anything. But it was impossible. She had tried to kill her friends and this was punishment.

_I hate him! I hate him! I'm not like him! I hate him!_

And at last, she moved. Just a little. Just her lips. But she moved.

"I hate him," she whispered. "I hate him."

Her words traveled through the temple. Ran through every crack in the bricks, every stitch in the fine red rug.

"Hate him...I hate him...."

Her world turned a blinding white. She knew that they were blanking her memory now. Every time she made progress, they erased it by removing some of her memory.

"Hate him..."

But what they didn't know was that she was gaining more than she lost.

"I hate him...."

But every time she lost another memory, it was like hell....

She could see clear which memory was exiting her mind as they erased it. Through the whiteness, she could make out the scene.

Six years old, sitting in a cold alley. Alone and scared.

Footsteps. Then she tried to run. But he caught her. The solider caught her. He grabbed her around the waist and picked her up like the small child she was.

"Calm down! I'm not going to hurt you...someone told me you were here and alone, and I came to help...my name is Johan...."

_Not that one!_ she thought desperately. Not _the one of Johan, he's one of my best friends!_

The whiteness took over her senses again. But that wasn't normal, usually when she lost a memory the whiteness faded to black....

"Hate him...I hate him...."

She fainted, rolled off the hand and fell to the ground.

"I hate him."

Link looked up from the mark on his hand. He'd been staring at it, thinking about the dream, when he heard someone speak.

"Hate who?" he asked.

"What?" said Navi. "Hate who who?"

"Him. Who is he?"

Jai frowned. "What're you talking about?"

"Didn't any of you say something just now?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"But...but I was so sure I heard someone say....something...I think it was, 'I hate him.' Why did I...?"

"Maybe you're hearing things," Jai suggested, a wry grin on her face.

"Maybe it was telepathy," Sheik said. "I thought I heard something just now, but it wasn't words or anything. Maybe someone's sending out a message." Her eyes flickered to his hand. "That just some people can hear."

Link understood what she meant; he could hear it because of the Triforce. He didn't like it, though. That voice sounded so...sad. And angry. But the sadness had been bigger.

Jai shrugged. "I think you're both crazy." She walked up the stairs where the witches had first confronted Kylia.

"This is where it happened," she said. "Whatever got her got her right here."

Link followed her up the stairs and swore when he saw the scene. Navi gave him a reprimanding look, but when she saw it she did the same thing.

"Tara met Kylia at the center of the temple," Jai said quietly. She pointed to a passage that had shattered fragments of rock around it. "It's that way."

"Then let's go," Link said.

They took the tunnel to their right. It was fairly short, ending in a set of decorative stairs that curved downward into the next room. The room was round, and just ahead of them was a door which was covered with a very sturdy lock which Jai said Kylia had kept in good condition. Off to the right, there was another door, blocked by bars. To the left, there was a door with nothing guarding it. They chose that door, but after walking through it, four different locks, all shiny and strong, appeared on the door. Jai cursed sourly as she tried to open it. It wouldn't budge.

"Just my luck that Kylia put traps in here overnight!" she said, frustrated.

The room was very large. The floor curved downward, to make a sort of oval bowl shape. There were boulders rolling back and forth around the "bowl" and there were several openings in the walls. Some were at ground level, but others were a higher story up. There was sand covering every inch of the floor here. Jai kicked some of it aside and saw the red carpeting underneath. She also revealed a piece of paper stuck in the sand.

It was a note. Jai picked it up and read it out loud.

"Catch four keys, you get out alive.

If you should fail, you'll surely die.

Hurry, now, before you're out of time;

You have four minutes until it dines."

"That doesn't even rhyme," Link said. "Whoever wrote it is a terrible poet."

"This is Kylia's handwriting!" Jai exclaimed. "Keys...what did she mean? And what's going to eat us?"

"Silver rupees!" Sheik said. "We had to get some in the Shadow Temple, remember?"

"Yeah!" Navi and Link said. Navi was flying over Link's head when her light brightened in recognition, and that combined with the look on Link's face made Jai burst into giggles.

"What's so funny?" Link asked.

"Nothing. So you're telling me, we have to find four keys in four minutes? In this death trap?"

"Or we get eaten. C'mon, look for them, hurry!"

Navi flew to one of the higher openings in the wall, easily dodging the boulders. She looked around, but found nothing, and skipped to the next one over.

Jai took a running leap and landed on top of a boulder. She walked on it until she got to one of the upper levels, and from there could jump to each opening. She searched frantically for a key, but found nothing, She rose a boulder to the other side of the room and kept trying.

Sheik and Link took the lower levels. Link dodged the boulders gracefully, but Sheik was having a little more trouble. She was able to get out of the way well enough, but she couldn't get anywhere.

Link looked around in one of the openings, found nothing, and tried again, desperately aware that time was running out. On his way to check another place, he saw Sheik finally get to her side of the room.

"Got one!" Navi said gleefully. She zipped over to the locks, dragging the heavy key through the air. She plugged it in a lock and turned. No good. She tried the one below it. Still, nothing. She swore and tried a different lock. It clicked, and fell off. They were one step closer to freedom.

She flew over to Sheik's side of the room to help her look. They met in the same opening, and at the same time, cried, "Another key! We found another one!"

As second or two later Jai recovered her key, but Link was still frantically looking for his.

A loud chime sounded through the room and another note floated to the floor. Jai snatched it up and read it.

"You tried but failed; you'll pay the price

Maybe next time, you'll think twice

Remember to aim—straight for it's eyes!

And maybe there will be a next time."

A loud rumbling was heard by everyone in the room. The ceiling began to crumble.

"Not good," Jai said. "Link, hurry!"

"I am!"

The rumbling increased, and a dark shape fell through the ceiling. Sheik's eyes widened when she realized what it was; a dragon, and not just any dragon, one with spikes covering it's spine, and its tail. It snorted, and a few flames sprouted around its nostrils. It was solid red. It looked every bit as menacing as the rest of the monsters Link had fought put together.

The dragon reared up, and when it came back down there was something of a small earthquake. It took a deep breath and everyone jumped out of the way in time to avoid being torched to death.

"So it likes to cook its food," Jai said. "That's comforting. Link, hurry, dammit!" she cried.

"I am, dammit!"

The dragon turned around to face its lunch and was about to shoot another blast of flame when Sheik had a bright idea and threw a handful of sand in its eyes. It shrieked in pain, and flailed around aimlessly. Both Sheik and Jai were knocked off of their feet, but unhurt. Navi zipped inside of the opening Link was currently looking in.

"Got it, I got it!" Link said finally. He ran over to the door and fit the key in the lock. Then he went back for Sheik and Jai. He made a face at the raging dragon long enough for them to get to the door, then he snatched Navi out of the air and ran for it. They made it just in time to avoid being fried.

"Oh, man," Link said. "That was close. Why did she put that there, huh?"

Jai regarded the door sadly. "I don't think she could help it. Whatever made her try and kill us—"

Jai couldn't finish her sentence. She took one scimitar out and stared at it. She walked over to the barred door, raised her sword high, and brought it down with a loud crash. The bars split in two rather cleanly, and fell off with loud clangs.

"See what you think of that," she muttered, hoping whatever had gotten Kylia could hear her.

Link had never really appreciated how sharp a scimitar could be, but his view on that had changed in the last five seconds; he felt lucky he hadn't fought when he had been captured back at Gerudo Valley.

Jai kicked the door open and Link, Sheik, and Navi followed silently. The room inside was blank, covered with a red carpet, but when they entered, bars came down behind them. Link knew there was something they had to figure out. But this room was totally empty.

Sheik walked to the middle of the room, looking around thoughtfully. She stared at the floor, thinking hard. It was for this reason she saw a dark shadow appear over her head. Just as she looked up to see what it was, a dark shape swallowed her whole.

- - -

Kylia groaned, and felt a huge shock when she did so. She hadn't been able to groan in a week. She remembered speaking, as the witches erased another memory. What had she said?

Oh, yes. How much she hated Ganon.

Which memory had they taken that time? She'd never know. Never, It was gone forever.

But...something was forming at the back of her mind...an alley....

_I remember!_ Kylia thought with a sudden revelation. _Goddesses be praised, I remember!_

She remembered her meeting with Johan, when he had grabbed her up out of the street so she wouldn't be killed. Remembered speaking right before she passed out. Remembered a lot of other things the witches had taken. Did this mean she was free?

Kylia tried to sit up, but she couldn't move. She felt the hope deflate inside her like the air let out of a balloon.

"Damn," she muttered, out of habit. She felt another jolt of shock. She could speak. She felt the witches trying to tell her something, but she couldn't or wouldn't hear them. She was so much stronger now. If only she could move....

She thought about yelling for help, but if someone came and she lost her strength against Koume and Kotake, they'd be in trouble. She decided against it and she closed her eyes, praying to the Goddesses that she could become strong enough to move on her own.

She remembered that could talk now. What a wonderful freedom. She felt like talking just to hear her own voice.

So she did.

She started swearing, calling Koume and Kotake every foul name under the sun. She started cursing Ganon for attacking Hyrule, then she thanked the Goddesses for her renewed strength. She thought out loud about her mother; about Johan; about the man that Ganon wanted dead, Link; she thought out loud about the things she had learned from leading Gerudo Valley and the things she would do to Koume and Kotake once she was free....

After awhile her voice grew slightly hoarse and she decided to shut up.

But she couldn't stop grinning. It wasn't on her face; she couldn't move, but it was in her mind. And so, without moving an inch, she grinned away, waiting for the Koume and Kotake's hold on her to loosen enough so that she could be free once more.

- - -

Link yelled as a huge blob came from the ceiling and swallowed Sheik whole.

"Like Like," Jai muttered at once. "Link, arrows!"

Link needed no further prompting. He quickly shot two arrows at the creature, which made an odd convulsing noise. Two seconds later, Sheik came flying out of the creature, but her mask and the cloth around her head were gone. Her hair fell loosely to her back, and though her eyes were still that soft Shekiah red, there would be no mistaking who she was.

She panicked when she realized this and turned her frightened red eyes to Link, her hair swishing as she turned her head.

That was when it clicked with Jai.

"Zelda?"

Sheik—or Zelda—got up and nodded shakily. She no longer had a mask; she felt almost naked in this uniform without it. She was white and trembling, but helped Link take down the Like Like regardless. She found her mask in its ashes—it had burned with blue flame after being destroyed.

She silently put the mask back on, and wrapped the cloth back around her head, covering most of the blonde hair.

"Never tell a soul," she said to Jai, still shaking. "You understand? Not a soul. If Ganon knew, I'd be dead or worse."

Jai was just staring at her with wide eyes. The bars on the door raised.

"Don't ever tell!" Sheik said, sounding close to tears. "Please."

"I won't," Jai whispered.

"Or I'd murder you," Link muttered.

"You knew?" Jai asked, shocked.

"You kidding? You're the only one here who didn't."

"Oh...but how?"

This question was directed at Sheik. She shook her head.

"Not now. Maybe after all this is over. Just remember, my name is still Sheik and I'm still a guy, okay?"

"O-okay."

Link saw something glint in the remains of the Like Like. He walked over and picked it up. It turned out to be a key.

"Heeeey," he said, flashing a half-grin. "I bet this baby goes to the lock outside. What you guys think?"

Navi, who had been floating in the air near the door, flew over to inspect it.

"I think you're right," she said.

They walked back through the door, and tried the key in the lock. It fit.

There was a long hallway ahead of them. Then there was a staircase that lead upwards. It was covered in a red carpet.

Link felt sick again. Why did he hate those spiral staircases with red carpets so much?

An image flashed through his mind, vivid an clear, but it was lost before he could get a good hold on it. A flash of...of something...something tall. And black. But what was it?

He shook his head to clear away his thoughts. He climbed the stairs slowly, wishing he was somewhere else.

There was a door at the top of the stairs. Jai stopped them from going in it.

"This is where the statue of our first leader is. We nicknamed the statue the Sand Goddess. But this is also the center of the temple. Be careful; Kylia might be in here, and I don't know what state she'll be in."

Link, Sheik, and Navi nodded grimly. Jai pulled open the door and went inside.

- - -

Kylia heard someone enter the room, almost silently, but she couldn't turn her head to see who it was. She heard a shocked gasp, then a male voice.

"Hey, look, there she is!"

That voice sounded so damn familiar....

"Stay away."

She hated to say it, but it was for their safety. Kylia could form words easily now, and felt it was best to warn whoever had just entered the room.

"What?" that voice was tiny, and female. It sounded like it belonged to a human, but it seemed so tiny....

"I said stay away. I'm not sure I'm safe. Who is that, anyway?"

There was another voice, but she couldn't tell if it was male or female.

"Friends. Link, Jai, Sheik, and Navi. You're Kylia, right?"

"Jai?" Kylia exclaimed. "Oh my Goddesses! Is it true, is Gerudo Valley really being attacked?"

"I hope it's not, but it's a definite possibility. Oh, I'm so glad you snapped out of it!"

"But I haven't," Kylia said sadly. "I can't move of my own free will. Just talk. I'm not sure if it's even safe to get near me. Look, if you see Tara before I do, tell her I'm sorry."

"She didn't mean what she said," Jai said sadly.

Kylia was silent for a moment. Then she spoke.

"What am I gonna do? I can't just lay here forever! Those witches have my medallion!"

"Slow down," Link said. "What witches?"

"Koume and Kotake. By the way...are you Link?"

"Last time I checked."

"The one who Ganondorf wants dead?"

"The very same."

"The one who stayed at the Inn when he was ten years old?"

"Yes...."

"I have so much I want to ask you."

"Likewise. But it'll have to wait. Now, tell us again about these witches."

- - -

"Wow. They really...?"

"Sure did," Kylia said bitterly.

"So, where are they?" Jai asked.

"Koume and Kotake? I don't know, but I can find out. I'll have to drop my guard a little though. I might lose some of my free will, I mean. So stay back," Kylia warned.

Everyone backed off. Kylia closed her eyes. She tried to loosen her guard on her free will. It wasn't easy.

_About time,_ Koume's voice finally said. _You were out of it so long we thought you had died. But you won't get out of it that easy._

_No,_ said Kotake, _we have other plans for you. Your friends are still in this temple. Find them and kill them._

_No!_ thought Kylia. _You do it. You're _cowards_, hiding somewhere were no one can see you._

_You idiot girl,_ Koume said. _We're in the top of the temple, we're not hiding._ _Now do as we say! Kill them! Kill them!_

Kylia tried to resist. She really did. But it became too much.

_Kill them!_

With a groan that came from the misery of her soul rather than the pain in her stiff limbs, she got up. Kylia realized she could still speak and she tried to warn them, but that ability would soon be lost.

"Stay back! They have me again!"

Time was running out. She was losing her ability to talk.

"They're in the top of the temple, you get there by going through the Sand Goddess's face," she said. She drew out her scimitars, much against her will.

"I'm sorry! Do what you have to, but don't let me hurt any of you! I...."

_Shut up, you brat!_ Kotake thought angrily.

Kylia's mouth closed, and though she tried to speak, nothing happened.

_Stop,_ Kylia thought. _Stop!_

_Kill them!_

_No!_

_Yes! Kill them! Kill them, now!_

"Leave me alone, damn you!" she screamed. The comment was directed at the witches, though she knew they couldn't hear her. She stood perfectly still.

"I'll handle this," Link said. Sheik didn't have the abilities to go against a Gerudo warrior, and Jai was to reluctant to fight her friend. Navi was too small, so that left him. He put himself in a fighting stance and drew his sword, then said three words. That was all it took.

"Bring it on," he smirked, a stubborn glint in his electric blue eyes.

Navi recognized it. But the last time she had seen it was when Link was ten years old, before they had met. He was racing with Saria, to see who could get through the Lost Woods to the "secret place" the fastest. He had been up to a challenge then, and he was up to one now. He had won then. Could he win now?

"Over here," he called to Kylia.

The Kylia inside tried her best to direct her body toward Link, knowing him to be the most capable of fighting her. The Kylia who was controlled by Koume and Kotake raised her scimitar and tried to deliver a fatal blow to Link's head. He raised his own sword and blocked it. She ducked, making him lose his balance, and appeared behind him. He whirled around just in time to block another blow. This time ducked, which sent her forward. She tripped over him, but got up too quickly for him to hit her over the head with the blunt edge of his sword.

On and on it went. Link could barely get in any blows, and defending was taking all his effort. After awhile, it became apparent who would win this battle. Link was tossed down to the floor, and Kylia raised her scimitar—

Then her eyes widened. She dropped the sword and fell to the ground.

Standing behind her was a cloaked figure. He had hit Kylia with a karate chop at the neck that had knocked her unconscious.

"Sorry," he murmured, sounding truly apologetic. "But you were _losing_, Link."

"I know. How did you get in here?"

"Not telling. I'll stay with her, you three go get that medallion."

"Serious?" Link asked.

"Yes. Didn't she tell you the way?"

"You were spying!"

"My best skill. Shoot an arrow at her face."

"Who's face?"

"The Sand Goddess's."

Link threw the man a strange look, but got out his arrows anyway. "Where?"

"Anywhere will do."

Link aimed for the nose. He hit it dead center, of course, and the sandy face fell away, revealing a passage. A rope ladder fell down from the passage.

"Get going," the man said cheerfully, clapping Link on the shoulder.

Link wiped the sweat from his forehead and started climbing.

- - -

"What is this place?" Jai asked.

They were standing in a room, a very large room, with three square platforms rising out of the floor. The middle platform was huge, but the two surrounding it were smaller.

They were all standing on the middle platform, feeling and looking extremely anxious.

"This probably where the witches live," Link said. "Show yourself, cowards!" he added loudly.

Two balls of light, one icy white and the other red as fire, appeared on the smaller platforms. Cackling began to vibrate throughout the room.

Link drew out the Master Sword, waiting for the inevitable attack. "If something happens, get out," he told Sheik, Navi, and Jai. "I can take these guys."

They nodded apprehensively.

The balls of light turned into two ugly old witches. They were riding broomsticks, dressed in black. One had fire for hair, and the other had ice. Link knew at once who they were.

"Well, well, well," Koume said, tossing a ball of fire up in the air and catching it again. "Look what we have here, Kotake."

"Three little brats who don't know what's good for them," said Kotake. "What should we do with them?"

"Oh, I don't know, burn them to ashes?"

"Freeze them to the bone?"

The witches started circling around the three people and the fairy on the platform. Koume shot a ball of fire at Link. He threw up his shield, but it was too hot for him to bear. Eventually he had to jump out of the way. Kotake shot an ice spell at Jai. She dodged and threw her scimitar at the witch. It missed, and while she ran to pick it up, she was blasted with another spell and froze her feet to the floor.

"Damn it!" Jai tried to reach the scimitar on her back to cut herself free, but her feet were positioned at an angle that made it impossible. Her other scimitar was lying six inches away from her outstretched hand. She roared in frustration. She could not break the ice.

Sheik was having just as much trouble. She spotted Navi trying to help Jai, and went over to see if she could break Jai loose. Soon, however, she was also frozen to the spot. She grabbed Navi out of the air to keep her from getting hurt.

Link got out his arrows and shot one at Koume. It hit her dress, but she was too quick for him to do real damage with arrows. She shot another ball of fire at him, and it grazed his arm. He winced.

Sheik and Jai struggled to get out of their icy prison, but it was no use. Navi flew out of Sheik's pocket to see if she could do anything, but she was too small, and Jai snatched her up again.

"Stupid fairy, you wanna get killed?"

Link's arm was searing; and the cuts and scrapes he had gotten in his battle with Kylia weren't helping any. His shield was no good against the attacks, his friends were stuck and he couldn't break them out, and there was one of him and two of him.

Things did not look good.

- - -

Kylia groaned. Her head felt like there was a ton of bricks on it. She recalled someone hitting her from behind, when she been trying to kill Link. She was glad they did.

She realized that she had groaned and was again capable of speech, and decided to use her new gift.

"Is anyone there?"

"Yes," said a voice. "But I was just about to go. Your friends are fighting the witches, and they need help."

"You're going to help them?"

"No. You are."

"But I can't move."

"Have you _tried_ yet?"

"No, but...."

"Sit up. Go on, you can do it, Kylia."

By some amazing miracle, Kylia gritted her teeth sand sat up. She moved her own arms to support her own weight, controlled the expression on her face, blinked by herself, everything. When it finally hit her, she jumped up, a grin on her face. She looked around for the person who had been there before.

But she was alone in the room. Her grin faded.

"Hurry up!" a voice called from the exit. She looked over and up and saw the cloaked man standing there, at the top of the stairs that led to the rest of the temple. He raised his hand in greeting, and she waved back at him, her grin returning full force.

"Thank you," she murmured, smiling sadly. "I'll never forget you, friend."

Somehow she knew this was goodbye. She was going to the Sacred Realm like her dreams had told her to, and his job was over, now that he had helped Link find her. He was going to go and so was she, but she would never forget the strange cloaked man who had helped her so much through her years as being a sage, and being in the lonely temple in the middle of nowhere. She had never known his name, but she had known his company, and that was enough.

"I don't like to say goodbye," she called. "So I'll see you later, okay?"

He gave a nod and disappeared as usual, very glad she couldn't see the expression on his face.

Kylia looked at the place he had been a moment longer, wiping away a single tear, then ran down the stairs as fast as her legs would carry her, searching through the keys in her pocket as she ran. She found the correct one, just as she got back to the entrance of the temple. She reached under her bed, and pulled out a steel box. It was kept locked at all times, but now it was just what she needed.

She unlocked it. Inside, there was another box, one side made of glass so that the object within could be viewed easily. Kylia smashed the glass covering the beautiful shield within, and the shards flew everywhere, catching the light and reflecting on the ceiling, for a brief moment. The shield was silver, and reflective to everything, even magic. The border was red, simply because the Gerudo made it, and they were fond of red. It was beautiful, with a star and a moon carved into as a design.

She stared at it a moment, then put it on her back and rushed back to the room where the Sand Goddess was. She found the ladder and started climbing.

- - -

Link dodged another flame attack, then whirled around in time to see another ball of ice flying at him. He ducked.

"Hey!"

That one outcry stopped the entire battle. Everyone looked toward the door.

There was Kylia, moving, of her own free will, and grinning. She swished her braid behind her shoulder, then took a running leap and jumped across to where Link was. She continued to grin at him. She took the shield off of her back and handed it to him.

"Happy birthday," she smirked. "C'mon, let's kick their sorry—"

"Yooouu!" Koume howled. "How? _How?_"

"You forgot about me," she said simply. "Link was fighting you and you forgot about me. And now that I'm free I'll never be imprisoned again." Kylia drew out her scimitars and started hacking away at the ice on Jai's feet. Jai looked overjoyed.

Link made a face at Koume. "Over here, ugly," he said.

"Ugly? Who are you calling ugly?" she shrieked. Out of anger, she shot a ball of fire at him.

Link knew what the shield had to do and he threw it up against the attack. It bounced off and hit her, but she was unfazed.

"You think you're gonna stop me with my own magic? Boy, you've got a lot to learn!" she cackled. She shot another ball of fire, but this time Link angled it so it caught Kotake in the stomach. She wheezed and threw a ball of ice at him, but it angled it at Koume.

She shrieked and shot another fire spell, but it was no good. Every spell they shot, he threw it at the other one, or dodged it entirely. Soon the battle had changed entirely; Link was rapidly gaining the upper hand. The witches looked dirty and tired. It was no wonder; they were being hit with their exact opposite over and over again.

Finally, Kotake said, "Koume! C'mon, if we don't get out of here this brat will kill us! You want your medallion, boy? Have it!" Kotake tossed it through the air and Kylia caught it. She couldn't resist making a very rude gesture with her hand as they left.

Link started laughing. "Yes!" he cheered. "We did it! Six sages, six medallions, all about to be in the Sacred Realm, and we're ready to fight!"

Link was sweaty, dirty, tired, and hungry, but his face was lit up with a smile. Jai and Kylia slapped five, as did Link and Sheik, and Link let Navi out of Jai's pocket so she could fly around.

Kylia and Jai hugged.

"I'm so sorry," Kylia said. "For all that I've done."

"Oh, Kylia, it wasn't your fault."

"But I still take the blame." She turned to Link.

"Well, Link, I meant what I said. Now that I'm free, I'll never be imprisoned again. Are you going to _trap_ me in the Sacred Realm?"

"Never," he said. "Can you take us there with you? I want to ask you about something."

Kylia was certain she knew what it was, but she nodded, and everyone held on tight, ready for the trip to the Sacred Realm.  
  
AN: Wow, what a long chapter. Almost ten thousand words! Yes, I know that there isn't a dragon in the Sprit Temple, I've just been reading a lot of Harry Potter. Anyway, it's all over now. The hard part is over, and I've been dreaming about the end so long the words will probably write themselves. I don't think I have a long wait till I can start the next story, unless my family keeps bugging me. Anyway, please pretty please reveiw! I'd really appreciate it!


	28. Chapter ThirtyTwo: Off With the Hood

Author's Notes: Oh. My. Goddesses. I'm so excited! This is the chappy where mr cloaked dude pulls off his hood yayness. But I won't spoil it. Oooh, story is almost done! Can't wait! My keys are sticky, so bear with the spelling mistakes and the uber shortness. The next one will be longer, I promie. And chocked full of shocks. So, thanks for all the reveiws I got, I really appreciated them!

Okay, this is it, enjoy the chappie!

Chapter Thirty-Two: Off With the Hood

"Link!" Saria squealed.

They had made the trip to the Sacred Realm, and when Saria saw Link, she ran up to him and hugged him.

"Saria, you're choking me—"

"Sorry," she said. She got off of Link and looked up at the people Link had brought with him.

Kylia and Jai looked rather nervous; they were in the presence of a Hylian, a Zora, a Goron, but worse, a Shekiah. Some Shekiah, out of the few that were left, would attack a Gerudo on sight, and they all held a deep grudge for losing most of their people to the Gerudo in the Wars seventeen years ago. Sheik, Link, and Navi were completely at ease, having been to the Sacred Realm before.

All of the sages had been playing cards, as they had when Link last left them, but they had risen in greeting when the last sage and her friends showed up. Sheik went over to Impa and hugged her. Impa smiled and hugged her back, but surveyed the Gerudo women rather coolly. Saria had, of course, tackled Link, and Rauru, Ruto, and Darunia walked over to the group, and everyone introduced themselves. Sheik felt rather worried about Impa's actions; she still hadn't spoken directly to Kylia or Jai.

Sheik gave Impa a pleading look.

"Please," she whispered as she hugged Impa again, "Please give them a chance. I did, and they're just like us. Jai is really nice, so is Kylia; she saved out lives."

"All right," Impa said. "For you."

They joined in the mass conversation, and Impa spoke kindly to the Gerudo women. They looked a little surprised at this, but accepted it without question. Kylia, suspecting that Sheik had interfered, shot her a grateful look. Sheik smiled from under her mask.

They weren't so bad, not really. They ate and slept, laughed and cried, had thoughts and dreams and feelings, just like everyone else. Holding an ancient grudge wouldn't do any good. Kylia was Ganon's daughter and had proved she could fight evil with the best of them. Jai was a Gerudo, as were Ani and Tara, and they all had weaknesses and strengths.

Except for the color of their skin....

_...they're just like me, _Sheik thought, another smile flickering over her face. Just like all Hylians. Even like the Shekiah.

But the color of someone's skin was a stupid way to judge. So was their heritage. Kylia could have easily became the most evil sorceress in Hyrule, and the most powerful, more so than Ganon. But she didn't. She did the right thing. She fought Ganon with the abilities she had not gained from him.

From what Sheik knew about Johan, she guessed that he would have been proud.

Speaking of Johan....

"So," said Link, grinning, "Didn't you want to ask me something?"

"Yes," Kylia said. "Where the_ hell_ have you been?"

The room of blue light, which had once seemed so empty and large, but now seemed tiny and crowded, exploded with laughter.

"I had a previous engagement, sleeping away seven years of my life," Link said. With Navi's help, he explained about getting the Spiritual Stones and pulling the Master Sword.

"Oh," she said, when he finished. "So that's when you left. And you found the Inn like it is now when you came back."

"Yep," Link said. "I was going to ask you if you tracked down Johan, but I guess the answer is no. Poetrader said it was attacked, maybe a week after I left."

"You found _Poetrader_?"

"Didn't I tell you? He gave us a lift through the desert," Link said. "On his flying carpet."

"His what?"

"Yeah, his flying carpet. Ride was as smooth as anything."

"How smooth?"

"Real smooth. Kinda stiff, though."

"Stiff?"

"The thing was as flat as a board. I mean, it's not like a real carpet at all. Too...."

"Yes?"

"Too stiff."

"I see."

The conversation continued this way for several minutes, much to the amusement of the other people in the room, until they got around to the subject of the cloaked man.

"He tried to rob us," Sheik said. "When we showed up in the Inn. Got out this huge knife with these fancy diamonds on it, and he—"

"Hold it," Kylia said. "Was the knife silver, with one diamond on each side?"

Link blinked.

Navi snickered.

"Yeah," Link said, after recovering from the surprise. "How did you know that? Is it yours?"

"No," she said, looking upset. "I gave it to Johan when I left. Maybe this guy took it from him?"

_I trusted him and he stole from my friends,_ Kylia thought. _That's so low._

"You don't think he hurt Johan, do you?" Link worried.

"I don't know...."

"Are you sure that knife was the one you gave him?"

"It was silver, with a diamond on each side," Kylia repeated. "If his knife looked like that, then yes, because that knife can channel magic and there's no other like it."

Link remembered the fight in Kakariko Village just before they had conquered the Fire Temple. Those balls of light that man had shot at the Gerudo...he felt like someone had punched him in the stomach.

"Would Johan have given it up easily? Did he know it could channel magic?"

"No, to both questions."

"Then something bad might have happened...."

Kylia hadn't ever thought about this. What if her cloaked friend had done something horrible to Johan?

"I met him six years ago. And for six years he's known he's had that damn knife and not said anything to me about it!"

"How'd you meet him?"

"I had finally got back to the Inn, but the whole place was blasted. I met him inside."

"And he told you that Johan would be okay, right?"

"You've heard this story before, huh?"

"Just from myself and Poetrader."

Kylia grimaced in frustration. "I just wish I knew hat was happening. I can't put it together...why would that man have Johan's knife, if he didn't hurt Johan? And he says Johan is alive and well, but how can we trust him? I mean, Johan might not be alive...he might be dead."

Link scowled.

Rauru, who was observing their banter silently, decided it was time to change the subject.

"We have located the seventh sage," he said. "It took a long time to confirm it, but I believe that my guess is correct."

"What?" said Sheik. "Seventh sage? But I thought there were only—"

"No, there are seven. The seventh is the Sage of Time, the one destined to lead the other six in times of danger. And I believe, Zelda—"

Kylia gasped.

"—that thus far you have been doing a very good job."

Sheik gasped.

Link started laughing, that handsome laugh of his that was rarely ever heard. The situation was enough for him, but the look on the face of Sheik and Kylia was almost too much.

"I knew it!" he howled. "This is terrific. Just yesterday you were telling me about my stupid Triforce—"

"Don't talk about it like that!" Navi gasped.

"—and now we figure you're the seventh sage! And it fits. Boy does it fit."

"Stop laughing!" Sheik snapped. "Rauru, you serious? I'm...I'm...?"

Impa went over to Sheik and hugged her. Rauru nodded.

"Yes, Zelda, I am serious. I imagine it's a bit of a shock, but it is fitting."

"Damn straight it is," Link said, still laughing. "I mean—"

"Why do you keep calling her Zelda?" Kylia interrupted.

Link's eyes slid over to Sheik, then he grinned and shrugged. "I dunno. Nice name."

Kylia looked at Jai for help, but she glanced at Link's sword and shook her head.

Then _Sheik_ started laughing. "I've sworn every person in this room to secrecy, so no one can tell. Now that's funny. Listen, they keep calling me Zelda because I _am_ Zelda."

Sheik pulled down her mask and grinned. Then she pulled it back up, not accustomed to wearing her Shekiah suit without it.

Kylia just stood there and stared.

"But Ganon thinks you're at Gerudo Valley!"

"Who ever said he was smart?"

"Actually," Kylia said thoughtfully, "how did you get in Gerudo Valley without getting caught?"

Link grinned. "We didn't. I had to beat Ani at archery. I made her talk and tell us where the Spirit Temple was."

"You beat her at archery? And that's all you got her to say?" Kylia started laughing.

Link exchanged a quick glance with Navi, and Sheik exchanged one with Jai.

"Nah," Link said carefully. "She let us loan Jai so we could get to the Sprit Temple."

Kylia caught something in Link's tone of voice and frowned.

"Why're you talking funny?"

"I'm not!"

"Don't give me that sh—"

"Kylia!" Jai said. "Look, it's my fault," Jai lied. "The subject got around to that fight four years ago and...."

Kylia stiffened. "And?"

"...they wanted to know why you were so mad, and by law Ani had to tell them. But I was the one who brought it up," she fibbed.

"Did you really tell them why I got mad?" Kylia asked, half furious, half afraid. She tried to fight down her emotions and remain calm.

Jai nodded bracingly. Kylia bit her lip, unable to meet Link's eyes. It was like this every time someone found out. She had this horrible, dirty secret, and was ashamed of herself just for existing. Like she had a lot of nerve to even show her face to people, for all the crimes her own father had committed. She was inferior, she was dirty and unclean. She had always felt that way, ever since the day she found out the truth.

But really, what was the point in hiding it?

She was a sage, she had obviously done something right.

And if the Goddesses were indifferent to her bloodlines, she could be too. They were divine and had somehow seen fit to forgive her for existing with Ganon's blood, so surely she could forgive herself.

The first thing to do was to stop hiding it.

"What in the world are they talking about?" Impa asked Sheik. Sheik just shrugged helplessly.

_And in front of a Shekiah, too. Maybe I_ do _have a lot of nerve,_ Kylia thought.

"Well," she began in a small voice. She decided that wouldn't do. "Well," she said again, in a much stronger voice. She was still looking down, for she couldn't meet their eyes.

_No,_ she thought, _No, I have to do this right._

She forced herself to look up and meet Impa's eyes.

"I'm...well, aah...my...."

_Don't lose your nerve!_

"M-my...father is...is Ganondorf."

Kylia winced and shut her eyes, waiting for the blow to fall.

It didn't. More afraid of the silence than of putting her neck further into the noose, she spoke again.

"Only by blood. I hate him with every fiber of my being. And...and I'm _tired_ of hiding it. I'm a sage, so I guess the Goddesses don't care, why the hell should I? I hate him and he hates me and that's all there is to it. If you can't get over the fact that I'm Gerudo and related to him then—then to hell with you, I don't care!"

Jai put an arm around Kylia, and Kylia opened her eyes and smiled gratefully. She was no longer looking at Impa, but at Jai, her friend.

But to her utter shock, Impa was the next to speak.

"You're a hell of a lot braver than him, that's for sure," she said, smiling. For the first time, she realized how bigoted she had been against Gerudo, just because they were Gerudo. Kylia had never done anything to her, and she had possibly saved Sheik's life by giving Link that shield. So what was wrong with being friends?

Kylia grinned nervously. "Y-you think so, huh?"

"Oh, sure," Ruto commented conversationally. "That rat just hides in his tower all day, never comes out to do his own dirty work. You, on the other hand, don't mind a little hard work. Hey, you're a sage, you _can't_ mind hard work. Besides, saying that had to take a lot of guts, y'know?"

"You look somewhat alike," Darunia said thoughtfully. "But I chalk it up to you two being of the same race."

"Look alike?" Rauru snorted. "Are you insane? Ganondorf is as ugly as sin!"

Everyone chuckled.

"Wow, you guys are great," Kylia said in relief. "It's bad enough that people are prejudiced against Gerudo, I hate having that over me too."

A comfortable silence reigned.

"Why?" Saria asked. "I mean, why are they prejudiced against Gerudo? I mean, aren't you just like us? I know I look ten years old, but I'm probably really the oldest one here. But with all these years on me I still must not be too bright because I don't know why someone would hate you because you have red hair and a nice tan."

Kylia and Jai grinned at each other.

"Chalk it up to stupidity," Kylia said. "What's your name?"

"Saria." Saria stuck out her hand. Kylia shook it, feeling grateful that child-like innocence could still exist in such a wise person. It proved a lot.

Eventually, everyone broke back into their individual conversations. Link was chatting happily with Saria and Navi, Sheik was talking to Impa, Jai, and Kylia. Rauru, Darunia, and Ruto were still locked into their card game, squabbling over who was winning and who might be cheating.

"You know," Saria said, "You've changed a lot, Link."

"Really?" asked Link. "How? Other than the growing up thing, I mean."

Saria giggled.

"Well, you're...different. You used to...oh, I don't know, depend on me too much. You were a little more quiet. Now you're full of energy, and you seem like you depend on yourself. You're not afraid of the big stuff anymore. You took out Phantom Ganon easy, and when you lived in the forest you wouldn't have even dreamed of doing that. I know it sounds weird, but you know what I mean, right?"

"Yeah," Link said sadly. "I know. Things are a lot more complicated when you grow up."

"You should have seen him fighting Koume and Kotake!" Navi said, her eyes round. "Man, once he got that shield, he was kicking their—"

"Navi, you shouldn't swear, it's a terrible habit."

The trio burst into laughter.

"And she even beat Link, Impa, almost. She's really good with a sword," Sheik said. Impa smiled.

"I'll have to take you on someday, if you almost beat Link. We'll see just how good you are," she said kindly.

"I am not," Kylia said. "Link woulda killed me, from what you said, he never loses."

"He nearly killed us when we found that dragon," Jai said. "It took him a year to find the damn key! Where did you find that dragon, anyway?"

"You kidding? It wasn't even _real_, it was an illusion! Supposed to kill you from the fright."

Jai's jaw dropped.

"You're kidding!"

"Nope."

Kylia, despite how ashamed she was that she had set the trap up, had to chuckle at the look on Jai's face. She could only imagine their reaction to what looked like a fully grown dragon.

"I'm telling you he cheated!" Ruto said to Rauru.

"My dear, he has not made a single foul move, how can you say such a thing?"

"Yeah," Darunia growled. "It's you we ought to be watching, missy."

"I can accuse him of cheating because he is."

"What proof have you got?"

"I'm _losing_!"

Rauru raised an eyebrow at Darunia.

"I'd like to apologize," Impa said. "To both of you."

"Us?" Kylia asked, astounded. "What on earth for?"

"I've been rather...unfair to you, and all Gerudo. I'm sorry I didn't get to take the time to know a Gerudo woman before this. The Gerudo seem like fine people. But I've been too busy remembering ancient grudges, and that was stupid of me. Please forgive me." Impa bowed her head a little, something a proud Shekiah would normally never do.

Kylia and Jai bowed their heads too.

"We're not angry at all," Jai said.

"Yeah," Kylia added. "We're both happy to just be accepted, who we are, as we are. At Gerudo Valley, my friend Ani—"

Kylia stopped and swore.

"Jai, Link, Sheik, Navi! You guys have to get back to Ani! To see if we were attacked! I can't let Gerudo Valley burn while we're all here!"

The activity in the room had ceased; everyone was watching the Spirit Sage.

Jai gasped. "You're right. Oh, damn, we'd better hurry. Can you warp us back?"

"Sure," Kylia said, "Take the medallion with you."

"Wait," said Rauru.

Heads turned.

"We'll need those back," he said, "If you want us to get rid of the storm around the Black Tower."

Link tossed a medallion to each sage, noticing that his load was lightened considerably. Kylia told them to gather around here, and she told them she would try and get them back to Gerudo Valley.

Sheik gripped Link's arm unusually tight. She waved a sad goodbye to Impa, and Link waved one to Saria.

Jai let go of Link and looked Kylia dead in the eyes.

"We'll miss you," she said, tears forming at the corners of her brown eyes.

There was a time when Kylia hated crying. She had tried her best not to cry when leaving the Inn, and since then, all the way until a week ago, she had fought to keep her emotions in check. Always. But now that she was free, she would never be imprisoned again. She had been released from her terrible secret, and she would not be trapped by her own emotions. A tear fell down her face, and she did not care.

She and Jai hugged for a very long time, and she whispered to Jai, "When you see Tara, apologize from me, okay? I love you all. Thank you for setting me free."

She turned to Link. "And thank you, too. You helped me more than you'll ever know."

Jai wiped away another tear and rejoined the group of people. Kylia got out her medallion and touched Jai's shoulder. She closed her eyes, concentrating.

"When you see us again," Navi said to the room in general, as the light started to envelop them, "I am confident that Ganondorf will have been knocked down a few pegs."

The orange light brightened, and soon Link felt himself flying through the air. When the light died down, they were in their room at Gerudo Valley.

Link felt dizzy. He walked three paces to his bed and sat down.

"No time," Jai muttered. "We have to find Ani. Now! Move, dammit!"

She dragged Link up off the bed and rushed downstairs and outside. The entire place was deserted.

Jai frowned.

"The last time that happened the older women all had hangovers for weeks," she muttered. "It was one hell of a party. No matter what, Ani _always_ leaves a guard."

She walked up to the archery arena and gasped.

At least a hundred Gerudo women were all bound and gagged, and most of them were unconscious. Jai stood there in shock for a moment; then it hit her.

The Gerudo women were wearing armbands, and pink uniforms, quite unlike any in Gerudo Valley. That meant....

"_These are Ganondorf's troops,_" Jai whispered.

She heard soft footsteps behind her, but before she could move, a voice shouted, "Freeze!"

Jai stopped dead. "Who is that?"

"Oh,. It's only Jai. It's okay, you can move."

Jai turned and saw Ani standing there, crossbow in one hand. She ran up to Jai, hugged her, then immediately began asking about Kylia, while Jai asked about Ganon's troops.

"You come inside," she said. "That's a; of Ganon's troops, and I have other women out looking to see if there are any more, just in case. By the way, we learned a new trick from a new friend."

Ani snapped her fingers and quite suddenly, she wasn't there anymore.

"That's why you didn't see the guards," she said, her voice coming out from nowhere. There was another loud snap, and she reappeared.

"Man in a cloak taught it to us. It isn't hard to learn. You just think of you not standing there and snap, it's easy. It gave us quite an advantage over Ganon's troops. You're lucky that you didn't get hit on the head, you had three people following you. Me and Tara just got here. It's okay, you guys, c'mon out!"

There were numerous snaps around the arena; it sounded like raindrops falling into the parched sand. Every time a snap was heard, another guard appeared. Ganon's troops had been well guarded. Tara was the last to appear, standing next to Ani.

"He fled," Tara said. "When we got all of his troops, invisible, he swore it was the Goddesses work and he fled. He doesn't have a single woman left. Now tell us about Kylia."

"Well," said Jai as they all entered the shady fortress, "I know she wants me to apologize to you, Tara. To everyone. And...."

Jai had to stop and wipe a tear from her eye. "She's free. She'll never be imprisoned again."

- - -

Jai launched into the story, telling the whole thing by herself, start to finish. It was hers to tell. Link stayed quiet, as did Sheik and Navi.

Ani fought tears several times, and near the end, couldn't fight them anymore. She knew Kylia so well, knew what she had gone through, knew what it had to have taken, what it had to have been like, for her to come out okay on the other side of the dark.

Tara just watched, apathy evident in her manner. However, when Jai spoke of the short speech Kylia made in the Sacred Realm, when confessing her father by blood was Ganondorf, Tara burst into tears. This quite unlike her, as she hardly ever cried.

"Goddesses bless you, Kylia," she whispered, tears rolling unchecked down her face. "You're right, you're right, if they can't get over who you are then to hell with them, girl! To hell with them!"

She and Ani hugged, both crying with heartache and happiness for their dear friend. Jai was crying even as she finished the story.

"Nabooru would be proud," Ani said. "So proud. Kylia is a special person. She lost control of her entire being and still managed to make it out all right. She's free. Goddesses be praised, our Kylia is free."

- - -

Link and Sheik managed t get their horses back and ride to the ranch without further interruptions. Tara had wanted to come, just for the ride, and they agreed, thinking it would be nice to have someone new to talk to.

Tara turned around when they got back to the ranch, admitting she was tired from helping with a stealth based ambush on Ganon's troops. They said goodbye, and Link, Sheik, and Navi all went into the house, laughing and talking loudly. It didn't take them long, however, to realize that the house was completely empty and silent.

"Malon?" Sheik called, feeling worried. "Talon?"

"Don't bother," said a female voice. "We have them."

Link looked at the stairwell to see a Gerudo woman wearing an armband walk down the stairs. She was dragging Malon behind her, who looked scared as anything and didn't make a sound.

Three more Gerudo women with armbands walked slowly down the stairs. They moved sleekly to all exits, blocking any escape routes. Apparently, the attack at Gerudo Valley hadn't left Ganon without troops after all.

Link's had began itching terribly. He looked down and saw a triangle mark, glowing. Sheik looked at her own hand and found that it also had a glow radiating from it. She felt cold chills crawling up her arms, up her spine, freezing her to the bone. She had not felt like that in seven years....

She and Link looked at each other in horror. She knew he felt it too.

Then there was a male voice, floating down from the top of the stairs. It was icy cold, a cold that penetrated the skin and pierced the heart.

"Don't kill the ones with the Triforce. Do what you want with the rest of them, and this place. Capture Zelda."

All color left Sheik's face. She knew that voice, all too well.

There was a snap of someone's fingers from the top of the stairs, and she instantly became Zelda again. She backed away from the staircase, looking as if she would rather be back in the Shadow Temple.

Link felt the same way when he saw the person walk down the stairs.

The King of Evil chuckled at the expression on Link's face. He snapped his fingers, and the Gerudo went into action instantly. Two grabbed Sheik by the arms, and the other one helped hold Malon still. Link sprang into action too; he stuffed Navi in his pocket and tried to fight off the women who were trying to capture Sheik.

Malon stepped on the toes of her captors, and kicked them in the shins. Her efforts were weak, but they made a difference. The women who were dealing with Sheik came over to help subdue Malon

Ganondorf took the opportunity to grab Zelda. Link made quick work of the guards, but by the time he could get out, Ganon had her. She kicked him in the crotch; he groaned in pain, but didn't let go. She bit and scratched and fought and stepped on his toes, but he was the most powerful being in Hyrule, and she was overpowered. Ganondorf blasted a hole in the roof and flew upwards, yelling to Link, "If you want to see her alive again, come and get her. Remember to bring your Triforce piece!"

These words were also heard by a Gerudo riding her horse back To Gerudo Valley. Tara turned to see that Ganon had Zelda and was flying through the air to his castle, then she turned back towards home and had her horse run like the wind.

"Zelda!" Link yelled. "Damn you, Ganon!"

Navi finally managed to free herself from Link's pocket.

"Navi, fly after them, keep yourself out of sight, and make sure she's okay," Link barked at once. "If you get the chance to talk to her, tell her I'm on my way."

Navi hastened to obey. Link helped Malon to her feet, then asked about Talon.

"They hit him over the head," she said shakily, helping Link tie up the unconscious Gerudo women. "Got me. I heard you come in...wanted to warn you...Link, what if he kills her?"

"I'm going to get her back."

They finished tying up he guards and Link raced outside. He had no plan—he just wanted to make sure Zelda wasn't harmed.

But someone caught him around the chest and forced him against the wall.

"What do you think you're doing?" he cloaked man growled, putting the knife with the silver handle at Link's throat.

Link struggled against him. "If I don't go he's gonna kill her! Let me go, dammit!"

There was a brief scuffle, in which Malon came outside and tried to talk some sense into Link, but he wrestled with the man until Link had the knife at the cloaked man's throat.

"All right," he said. "Talk. I want to know who you are and what you did to Johan. Now. Take off your hood."

"Get real," the man said.

"I am. Take it off." Link dropped the knife to the ground and pulled out his sword.

"Don't push me," he said. "I don't want to do it but if you don't do what I say I just might."

The man made a dash for it, but Link wrestled him against the other wall, so that he had his back to the barn. Lnk was serious. The sword was touching the man's chest, and the cloth there ripped a little when Link moved the sword.

"Do it. Now."

"Must I?"

"_Yes._"

"Fine," the man sighed. He reached up and pulled back the hood.

Link dropped his sword with a loud thud. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"No way," he whispered. "No way. I don't believe it. You're _dead_, I thought you were _dead_. This is impossible...no way."

"Yes way," the man said, smiling grimly.  
  
AN: I am sooo mean. You prolly know who it is by now, but don't spoil it in the reveiws I hope I get. Yeah, please reveiw me. Next chappie shouldn't take too long, I hope. Bye!!


	29. Chapter ThirtyThree: His Story

Author's Notes: Oo' Wow. That was fast. Thanks for my reveiws. Holy Nayru, seven in one chap...I must be doing a good job. : ) (Sorry if I seem like an airhead.) Anyways, this is it, you get to find out who's who, and why! Enjoy it!  


Chapter Thirty-Three: His Story

"Link, I don't understand. Who is this guy?" Malon asked.

"His name is Johan," Link whispered. "I can't believe this! How? _How_?"

"It's a long story, actually," Johan said.

"I don't care. Start talking."

Johan bent down and picked up his knife. He stared at it for a moment.

"I suppose this gave me away."

"Yeah. It did."

Johan sighed. "Seven years I've kept my identity a secret, then you come along and it's all over the place."

"All over the place, ha. Two people know. I still can't believe it's you...of all the things I guessed that one never even crossed my mind."

"Well, you'd never expect Zelda to be a boy, either. There's a certain art to hiding."

"And I want to know how you pulled it off."

"It's a long story. It starts right after you left with the stones...."

"Go on."

"About two days after you left, I had...a strange dream. Three women told me to get myself and Poetrader out of the Inn, as fast as I could. They told me I was someone called the Messenger of the Sages, who was destined to guard the Hero of Time during his quest. Basically, this means teaching you all the warp songs, and doing a lot of unwanted spying. Like I said, it's my best skill...."

- - -

"Johan...."

A voice called out to him through the hazy white of a dream. He knew not who it was, only that it was a soothing voice. His dream self walked through the white mist of the dream, searching for the owner of the voice. He found her quickly; it was almost as though she wanted him to.

"Who are you?" he asked.

The woman looked Hylian, but she was more beautiful than any Hylian could have hoped to be. She had long dark hair, which was pulled back in a loose braid, and deep, sea blue eyes. Her skin was as pale as moonlight. She wore a solid blue dress, and black boots. She had a bow and quiver on her back.

"My name is not important," she answered. "You will better not knowing, until after we are gone."

"We?" Johan repeated.

"Yes," said another female voice. Another woman appeared in the foggy whiteness, coming to stand to the left of the first woman.

This woman had short, spiky, red hair that curled at the ends. Her eyes were a Shekiah red, and she wore a very revealing top and a short skirt. She had a very long staff attached to her back, much like a sword would be hung in a sheath. Her skin was slightly tanned, as if she had been out in the sun quite a bit.

"I don't understand," Johan managed to say. He was very confused. Who were these people and why were they in his dreams?

That was when the whiteness began to glow, and a third woman stepped out of the haze, to stand next to the woman in red. She had soft wavy brown hair that feel to the middle of her back, just hiding the sword and shield there. She was wearing a green tunic and a long green skirt. Her eyes were a deep, forest green.

"You will not understand who we are until long after we have faded from your dreams," this woman murmured. "But for now, we must warn you. We cannot intervene in affairs going on in Hyrule, but we can warn you of what is to come. You must get yourself away from your home, and the one who is there with you. In a short time, this place will be attacked and destroyed. Move your things to a new area and prepare to live there. You don't have much time."

"You remind me of someone," Johan said. His brain was foggy, and he could not think clearly.

"We have clouded your memory," the first woman said. "It is better that you know not who we are, until we are gone. Johan, you are the Messenger of the Sages. You have a destiny, and a duty to fulfill it. You must guard the Hero of Time on his travels. He is the only one who can wield the Master Sword, so you will know him when you see him. But remember, your time is short, unless you get away. Many people died in Ganon's attacks these past two days. You must not suffer the same fate."

"Good luck to you, Johan," the woman in red murmured. "Remember who you are. Your path will not be easy, but it bears great rewards."

Johan awoke with a start, sitting up in bed. He was sweating. He tried to think, and could feel the cloud on his brain lifting.

It hit him, and he wondered why he didn't see before. Those must have been the Goddesses of Hyrule! And all he did was ask questions.

Normally he had trouble holding on to his dreams, after he awoke, but this was vital. His memory fought to hang on to what the Goddesses had told him to do.

"Leave," he murmured. "And fast."

He did not go back to sleep until dawn. When Poetrader awoke, Johan told him to get out of the Inn, and fast. Johan didn't tell him why, just in case Poetrader thought him to be crazy, but Poetrader got his things and moved out quickly anyway.

Johan, meanwhile, began putting his things in the meadow that was at the end of the passage. He got his trunk full of his most prized possessions, got some clothes, and some tools he might need to survive up there for an extended period of time.

Before sunset that day, he had set up a small camp hidden in the forest.

He had nothing to do but think. So he did. Eventually his worried mind thought about Link. Against his better judgment, he started off for the Temple of Time.

It was a beautiful building, especially on the inside. It had stained glass windows, and the floor was sparkling white marble. His footsteps echoed around the room as he walked to the altar sitting in the middle of the room.

He looked at the door ahead of him and recalled the legend that Link had said Princess Zelda told him. The Door of Time...

...was open?

He searched the temple thoroughly, but found nothing. No ocarina. No stones. The entire place was empty.

He turned back towards the door and nearly died from the shock. There was someone standing there, but he hadn't heard them come in.

That someone was Ganondorf, the King of Evil.

Johan backed up a few paces.

"What do you want?" he asked, sounding a lot braver than he felt.

"I want to kill you," Ganondorf said coldly. "You're the one who is supposed to watch that brat, if he ever comes back alive. I don't ant him to have any help. So you'll have to go."

Ganondorf took two steps into the room and away from the door. Johan backed away, but moved slightly to the right, thinking of escape, knowing he was no match for this monster.

Ganondorf decided a painful way would be the best way. As he had with Link two days before, he held out his hand and it began to glow with an sickly purple light. Johan took two more paces back and Ganondorf followed.

Then he was off like a shot. He headed for the Inn, not wanting to give away the location of the camp. He exited the secret passageway, and entered the kitchen, only to come face to face with Ganondorf again. He had teleported, not knowing where the secret passageway was.

Ganondorf shot flames out of his hands, and the air around Johan began to smell like smoke. He wanted to somehow save his home, but knew it was no use. Having nothing to lose and everything to gain, he fled back to his camp.

He only left the meadow when he was trying to get some of Poetrader's magic books, that he had left behind. He met Poetrader then, and Poetrader asked him, "Where is Johan?"

Johan was wearing a cloak, that covered him from head to toe. For a moment, he couldn't answer. But then he spoke, realizing that the man was waiting.

"He's gone. But he'll be okay. Don't worry about him."

- - -

"To this day I'm convinced the three women in my dream were the Goddesses themselves, and that they helped me escape the same fate as so many in the Market that day," Johan said. "During the months that I stayed hidden in the meadow, I recovered some of Poetrader's books and learned a little magic. I wasn't born with the ability, so I needed something to channel it through. That's how I discovered Kylia's knife could be used as more than what it was. I learned how to turn myself invisible for short periods of time, and how to knock someone out cold without touching them. All sorts of things that came in useful when I finally left my hiding place. And when I was hiding from you...."

- - -

He was tired of spending every day at his camp. He was not a coward. So why was he acting like one?

He had been hiding here, in these woods, for months. He had made a calendar to keep track of the time, so he knew. It was easy to survive here; the lake was teeming with fish, and the forest was full of all kinds of things to eat, not to mention building materials. He had constructed himself a little shack to go in during th rain, but mostly enjoyed sleeping outside.

But now he had to leave. He was not going to spend the rest of his life hiding.

He gathered a few things into a small trunk, the same one that had sat by the fireplace in the Inn. He traveled to his broken home and out the door.

He gasped when he saw the Market. It no longer looked like any human life had ever been there. The entire place was gray, burned, and rotten. Hyrule Castle was still standing at that point, but it looked like a powerful warrior would look to come home from war and find his family dead: utterly defeated.

What was worse, there were two or three redead in the square. Johan couldn't fight them; he had not yet completely mastered the magic of Kylia's knife. Instead, he walked, invisible, to Kakariko Village. He decided to live in Damp's hut. After finding his friend had passed away and left him a weapon, he saw no better options. And so, even after Link came back, he stayed there, at least to keep an eye on things.

- - -

"That was you!" Link exclaimed suddenly. "You were the person in the graveyard that day, weren't you? I thought I was losing it...."

"Yes," said Johan, "that was me."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to disturb you, for one thing. For another, I told you my job involved a lot of spying. I figured you were going to tackle Death Mountain next, after you left the place where the Shadow Temple was. I'm sorry, but it was my job to figure it out."

Johan sighed again.

"I started visiting all the sages, in their respective temples. I never got the chance to meet with the Light Sage, but I figured that didn't mean much, if they were already in the Sacred Realm," Johan said.

He paused and took a deep breath.

"Eventually," he continued, "I figured out what had happened to all of them, and they taught me the songs to warp back to their temples, because they liked having company—and I can't say that I blamed them. When you showed up in the Inn, I didn't know if it was really you. But your map convinced me. And I knew that the blonde person with you had to be Zelda. I decided to keep watching you; I didn't want either of you to get hurt. So when you left, I followed."

- - -

"Where did you get this map?" Johan asked warily.  
  
"A friend gave it to me."

True. But he had to make sure it really was Link.  
  
"Who did?"  
  
Link sighed. "His name was Johan, he used to live here. I don't even know if he's alive anymore."  
  
Johan looked through the rest of the pile of Link's things somewhat distractedly. True, Link had the map, but someone might have been able to take it...like who? No, the map proved it all; this really was Link. Goddesses, he had grown so much....

"What about the ocarinas?" Johan asked, not really caring, but not wanting to arouse suspicions.  
  
"The big one is the Ocarina of Time, and if you take it, I'll make you wish you had died. The smaller one is something my friend Saria made for me a long time ago."  
  
"I see...."  
  
He looked through the pile again, and examined the map, front and back, making sure it was the real thing. The one Sam had made for him.

There were no mistakes. It was Sam's map.

Johan dropped it back on top of the pile and put Kylia's dagger away.  
  
"I'm sorry I had to do that to you, Link. But in today's world, hardly anyone can be trusted."  
  
"Yeah. Not everyone is as nice and trusting as you are." Sheik's voice held a sarcastic note.  
  
"I'm assuming that you're not really Link's cousin, so just who are you?" Johan asked. He had a vague suspicion, but the answer would say it all.  
  
"He told you, didn't he? I'm Sheik," she snapped. For he knew she was a girl, Link had slipped up when mentioning it.  
  
"I meant under the disguise," Johan said calmly, knowing full well she wouldn't reveal herself that easily.  
  
Sheik snorted. "You take off your mask and I'll take off mine."  
  
They had a staring contest for a moment. Johan was the first to look away. "Fair enough," he said. "Link, you can have your things back now."  
  
Link bent down to pick them up off the floor, and looked at them all closely as he put them in his pockets, making sure the Johan hadn't harmed any of them. He stopped at the map. Johan tensed, afraid he had given himself away.

"Did you know Johan?" Link asked, straightening up.  
  
"That depends on your definition of knowing him," Johan said, careful not to let his voice giving anything away.  
  
"I just want to know what happened to him!" Link burst out angrily. "He's the only person left who knew my parents, and he's my friend! He never did anything wrong to anyone, and he didn't deserve to be hurt or killed or whatever happened to him! You see," he said in sarcastically polite tone, "I was trying to get out of here so I could find him before you interrupted me. Since you're wasting my time the least you could do is give me a straight answer. Do you know if he's all right?"  
  
Johan stayed quiet for a long time. The temptation to tell Link who he truly was...it was overwhelming. But he had come this far, and he wouldn't even begin to think about revealing himself until his job was done. The Goddesses had chosen him, and more than likely saved his life, and he could not afford to let them down. 

He remembered the promise he made to Kylia.

_"Please, promise no matter what happens, you won't do anything stupid to put yourself in a place you don't want to be."_

He could not reveal himself. That would mean risking Ganondorf finding him before his job was complete. He could no do it.  
  
"Johan is alive and well," Johan said quietly.  
  
"Where is he?"  
  
"I cannot say."  
  
"You know, don't you? Why won't you tell me?"  
  
"I'll tell you in good time, if I tell you at all," Johan said, unable to meet Link's eyes and glad he had the hood on to cover the expression on his face. "You mentioned going to the ranch. You'd better hurry, that place is as bad off as the rest of the world."  
  
Link shot a final glare at the Johan, then walked out of the room. Sheik and Navi also glared, then followed.

Johan felt terrible. He was only trying to help. But he could understand Link's frustration. After all, he had probably just found out who he really was. That could leave a mark on anyone.

Johan quietly followed Link, Sheik, and Navi all the way to the ranch. He watched from afar as Link single-handedly beat Ingo in a horse race and won back the ranch.

When Ingo came fleeing out of the ranch, Johan caught up to him. He put the knife at the man's throat and demanded that he leave Hyrule and never come back.

Ingo had more than enough that day, and he obeyed. No one ever saw him again.

- - -

"So," Link said, grinning, "That's why he never came back."

"Thanks," Malon added.

"You're welcome," said Johan, smiling a little. "I took savage pleasure in it, to tell the truth."

Link just stared at Johan.

"And you never told me. I was..._extremely_ worried."

"I know," Johan said. "And I'm sorry."

Link and Johan embraced for a brief moment, then it hit Link. There was something he hadn't found out yet, and he was sure Johan was the only one who knew.

"Why," Link said, "Did you make such a big deal about Malon's mother?"

Johan was silent.

"Yeah," Malon added. "I'm curious to know why you asked both me and Link about it."

"You want to sit down?" Johan asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.

"No," Malon said. "Just cause I'm a girl doesn't mean I'll go all weak at the knees at every little thing."

Johan smiled a little.

"Well, I'm not quite sure how to put it."

"Then just say it," Link said. "Give us a straight answer for once."

"All right...Malon's mother, Mikali, was Sam's younger sister."

Malon, who did not know anything about Link's parents, was confused. "So?"

Link turned around, and looked in her shocking blue eyes with his own.

"Malon," he croaked, "My...my dad's name was Samuel. Sam for short. Does that mean...that...that we're...?"

"Cousins," supplied Johan. "And yes, you are. I'm surprised you didn't realize it, just by looking at each other's eyes."

It was at this point Malon went weak at the knees and had to sit down on the front steps. She buried her face in her hands.

Link just stood there, gazing at Malon. It hadn't truly clicked yet. The news just wouldn't sink in...but after a minute, he walked over to Malon, helped her to her feet, and hugged her. She was crying. He felt like crying too.

He had family. He had a family. He wasn't alone in this world after all. She was just a cousin, but she was his family.

He couldn't fight the tears. Big, grown up, seventeen year old Link began to cry, and the two cousins hugged each other and cried their eyes out.

"I can't believe it," Malon whispered after a minute. "I thought it was just me and Dad...I didn't know I had anyone else."

"I didn't know...I had anyone at all," Link choked.

They let go of each other, looked into each other's startling blue eyes, and then hugged again.

_That's why,_ Link thought. _She never made me feel awkward or funny. I never got nervous around her. And this is why. I have a family. She's my family._

"I have to go get Zelda," Link said at last, wiping his eyes.

Malon nodded, still crying. "Do you want me to come?"

Link shook his head. "Too dangerous. Stay here, take care of...."

Link hardly dared to speak the words. But he couldn't help it; it was the truth.

"...take care of...Uncle Talon...and make sure he's okay. You can tell him if you want to...."

Link rubbed at his eyes again.

"C'mon," he said to Johan. "We're walking."

"Walking?"

"Yeah. There's still a lot I have to ask you."

Link took another look at Malon. "I'll be back, okay?"

She nodded. "Good luck. Love ya, cous."

Link bit his lip hard. "Love you too."

People got told every day that they were loved. People heard it from their parents while growing up, and from the rest of their family, whenever they met. But Link had never had his family tell him that they loved him, nor had he been able to return the favor. Now that was possible.

Link walked out of the ranch, eager to get to Zelda. Johan pulled his hood back up, and picked up Link's sword. Then he followed.

Malon watched them awhile, the fled upstairs to tend to her father.

AN: It didn't have Sheik in it! At ALL! Omg! ::checks temperature::

Ehh, anyway, bet you're been waiting on that awhile, huh? o.- Lol, I'm so sad...the story is almost done. ::cries:: But hey, I get to do a sequel (yay) so I'm good. PLEASE reveiw, I'm begging you! I wannna know how I did with the whole "I'm shocked" thing. I'm not too good at that. Poor Malon. Claimed she would be fine standing up and had to sit anyways. Oh well. Please don't spoil this if you reveiw, and PLEASE, pretty please, reveiw! Thank you! I love ya all!  
  
PS: Sorry for the uber shortness of this one too. Next one won't--well, shouldn't--take long, but I can't promsie it will eb any longer. Sorries. Anyways please reveiw! Bye!


	30. Chapter ThirtyFour: The Black Tower

Author's Notes: Everyone will hate me after this chapter. ;-; I did a bad thing. I hope you like it anyway.

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Black Tower

Navi flew as fast as her wings would carry her. She watched as Ganondorf carried Zelda into an open window, by going through a small, high up gap in the storm. She waited a few minutes, unsure what do to. Then she remembered that Zelda was accomplished at magic, and might be able to do telepathic communication.

_Zelda, this is Navi, can you hear me?_ Navi thought. She did not dare try and fly through the window. She would get caught for sure.

For a moment, there was no response. Then Navi heard a frightened voice.

_Yes. I can hear you. I'm scared. Where is Link?_

_He's on his way,_ Navi thought. _He'll be here soon._

_Ganondorf has me locked up...in a pink crystal thing,_ Zelda's voice said. _He left for a minute...please, can't you try and fly in?_

Navi bit her lip, then made her choice.

_All right, but if he comes back before I hide I'll have to go,_ Navi thought.

_Okay, _Zelda's voice said. _Hurry._

Navi bit her lip again, and prepared to fly into gap in the storm.

She was afraid, but Link had told her to stay with Zelda, so....

In ten seconds, she was behind Zelda's crystal prison. It was pink, and had a glow radiating from it. There were stained glass windows all around the room. The walls were practically made of them. Navi stayed behind Zelda, even when Ganondorf came back in, and she felt like throwing up.

_Where is Link?_ Zelda thought desperately.

_I don't know,_ Navi admitted. _But I'm sure he'll be here soon._

- - -

"So," Link said.

"Why are we walking?" Johan asked from under the hood. "Don't we have to hurry?"

"Yes," said Link, "But it's better if we let him think we aren't coming. I'm...pretty sure he won't hurt Zelda, not till he has me too." Link held up his hand as he walked. "Did you know about this?"

"Yes," said Johan. "What else did you want to ask me?"

"I don't know," Link said quietly. "Well, yeah, here's a god question: when's my real birthday? The one Saria gave me is the same as Zelda's, I can't have that."

"April twenty-first."

"Oh."

"Actually," Johan said, "There's something I want to ask you...but you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"Bout my folks, right?"

Johan nodded.

"Ganondorf killed them. They met up with some Gerudo on the way to Lake Hylia...Ganondorf was with the Gerudo...he killed my dad and my dad told my mom to run for it...so she did...."

A brief mental image of Sam being stabbed through the chest by Ganondorf crossed Johan's mind. And Alanai carrying the baby Link...he could see it almost as if he was there.

"She got to the edge of the forest, with two Gerudo women chasing her. One of them shot her with a poison arrow...she shot the other one. They offered her the antidote if she gave me up...she wouldn't do it...the bottle got crushed. She knocked the other woman out. She didn't have anywhere to go and she was dying. Navi had been watching them and she told my mom to come to the forest. She asked the Deku Tree to take care of me, and he said he would...."

Link's voice hardened. "She could have got the antidote if she let them have me. That's what Ganon wanted, was me. If I hadn't been there she would have lived. It's my fault they're dead."

So that was what had happened. Sam had died protecting Alanai...and she had willingly, knowingly, given up her life...so Link could live. But it wasn't his fault.

"Link, if they had another chance, they'd do it the same way, all over again. They loved you. It wasn't your fault they died. The only thing they wanted was for you to live. Link,, you're the last hope for every person in Hyrule. If they had lived, if Alanai had given you up for the antidote to that poison, Hyrule would have no hopes. It would be like this and stay like this forever. Link, you're...you're...a link to the Goddesses."

"What?"

"That's your namesake. Sam and Alanai thought they couldn't have kids. Then you came along and it was a miracle from the Goddesses. They thought you were the link to the Goddesses. And, in a way, you are."

Link glanced at his hand. "That's really why my name is Link?"

"Yep."

A cold wind blew from the Market. They were about ten feet away from the drawbridge.

Link shivered. "Make that freezing."

Link looked at the Black Tower in the distance. His features hardened.

"The sages told me they would get me by the storm, when I gave them their medallions back. So all we have to worry about is what's inside."

Link walked through the deserted Market, Johan by his side. They both kept on the alert for any redead, but by some miracle, didn't find any.

The wind grew louder as they walked the path to the tower. The thunder rolled menacingly, the lightning went off in short but blinding flashes. But there was no rain. Just a freezing wind, and the storm.

"All right," Link yelled at the sky. "If you can hear me then let me by!"

All at once he started to feel dizzy. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists to help it pass.

Instead of black on the inside of is eyelids, there was white. A figure came walking out of the white. Rauru.

"We are going to use our power to break a gap in the storm," he said. "It won't last long. You'll have to hurry. We have been watching you ever since you left the Spirit Temple, so yes, we know that Ganondorf has taken Zelda."

"Who said that?" Johan asked, alarmed.

"Close your eyes," Link murmured. "Then you can see them."

Johan did, and through the white he too saw Rauru. It was strange, seeing with his eyes closed. But that was what was happening. It was not a mental picture, he was actually seeing it, as if someone had pressed it into his eyelids.

Rauru paused a moment, apparently hearing something they could not, then smiled.

"The other sages would like a word, before we part the storm," he said. He faded away into the whiteness. Then, Saria stepped forward, looking around. It was as if she couldn't see Link or Johan.

"Be careful, you two," she whispered. "Link, please, don't get hurt. I couldn't live if you did. And...and I know you found your family now, but, just remember, you'll always be like a brother to me." Saria wanted to say more, wanted to say how much he meant to her, as a friend and a brother, but it could not be put into words.

"I know," Link murmured, sensing what she wanted to say—but he didn't think Saria heard him. She stepped back, looking uncertain.

Darunia stepped forward. He too looked around, as if he could not see Link at all.

"Brother, I'm not a guy who likes a lot of drama, so...I'll just wish you good luck."

He faded out into the whiteness and Ruto appeared.

"This is for Link," she said, and blew a kiss to the nothingness. Link felt his face get hot.

She faded out, and Impa walked forward so they could see her.

She looked pale and worried. Her gaze dropped to her feet.

"I couldn't protect Zelda," she said. "So I'm asking the both of you just to get her back, and make sure she's safe. Good luck. Be sure and tell her...that I love her."

Impa stepped back, and the final sage walked forward—Kylia.

"Johan," she said, looking around. "I know it's you, and that you can hear me...I missed you. I want you to remember the promise you made to me...don't go off and do anything stupid to get yourself killed. Thank you, for all that you did. G-good luck."

Kylia faded away, and was replaced by Rauru.

"We're going to part the storm," he said. "You'll have to move quickly. We all wish you the best of luck. May the Goddesses be with you. Open your eyes and run."

Link opened his eyes. So did Johan.

Link remembered Zelda, at ten years old, telling him unwillingly about her dream.

_"Then there was a light...."_

Something in the sky began to glow. In the Sacred Realm, each sage held their medallion high. The energy made threads of light to the middle of the room, forming one white ball of light.

_"It pierced the clouds, shot through the darkness...."_

The glow in the sky shot down and curved so that it made a clean tunnel through the veils of clouds covering the tower. Link and Johan ran on it, through it, to reach the other side. It flickered out just as they got to the landing of Ganon's Tower.

"Good luck...."

Johan took a deep breath.

"This is it. Nervous?"

"As all hell. You?"

"Twice as nervous as you are."

Together, they walked into the doors of Ganon's Tower.

- - -

"He has terrible taste," Link muttered. "I hope he wasted a lot of money on his decorator."

They were inside the tower. It was a round room, and in the middle there was a door, that lead to the core of it. And at the top, there was....

Link wrapped his arms around himself. It was freezing in here.

"What's wrong?" Johan asked. "It's not cold in here."

"It is to me. I guess it's because of this, I can feel...him." Link glanced down at his hand. Zelda had had to live with this man? With him in her home? Had she always had to deal with this cold?

Link walked across the stone bridge in the room to the door. The cold increased. He touched the doorknob.

Link swore and drew his hand back sharply.

"What?" Johan asked, alarmed. "Is it rigged?"

"No," Link said, embarrassed. "It's nothing...."

When he thought Johan wasn't looking, he covered his hand with his tunic, and pulled the doorknob open. He walked inside the round core of the tower and Johan lingered behind, examining the doorknob. It looked normal. He purposely touched it when he closed the door behind him, but it didn't do anything to him.

"What was wrong with the knob?" Johan asked.

"It...it's stupid, forget it."

"No, I want to know."

"...it was freezing. So cold it burned."

It was then Johan realized why having a Triforce piece could be both a blessing and a curse. Link could tell from the cold chills if someone wasn't being sincere, but with an evil as great as this, he could just as easily develop a frostbite.

This room was also round, but quite a bit smaller. There was nothing there but several keese, which Link managed to take out quickly, with Johan's help. He used Kylia's knife to shoot balls of energy toward the keese, which was just as effective as Link's arrows, except for the fact that Link's aim was better.

They went through the door on the other side of the room, only to be confronted with a spiraling staircase, covered in a red carpet.

"So that's why I couldn't stand those stupid stairs in Gerudo Valley!"

"Excuse me?" Johan asked.

Link explained about feeling sick on the stairs as they began to walk up the staircase. After awhile, they could hear a faint sound...it was an organ, and someone was playing music. A sinister tune that made Link's arms crawl, and that made him even colder.

"Just keep walking," Link said. "I'll stay warmer that way."

After awhile, they came to another room. This one was full of Stalfos. Link and Johan managed to take them down fairly quickly, but for every one they destroyed, two more appeared. Soon the room was swarming with Stalfos, redead, keese, and skulltulas.

The fight was long and brutal. At one point, Link's arm got scraped by the sword of a Stalfos, and at another, two or three keese began biting at him. When all the fighting finally stopped, Link had to put his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

"By the Goddesses...he means business."

Johan nodded grimly.

There was a clanking sound to Link's right. He whirled in an instant, and was face to face with three iron soldiers. They were almost twice his height, had iron armor covering every part of their body, and were carrying swords as tall as they were.

"Uh-oh."

Link backed away a few paces.

"Any bright ideas?" Johan muttered.

"Haven't I had enough _bright ideas_ today?" Link asked sarcastically. He grimaced. "We are in some serious sh—"

Link ducked as one of the iron soldiers swung its sword at him. The iron solider, who had been expecting Link's body to break some of the fall, lost its balance and fell forward. Link took the opportunity to lash out at the strings holding the armor together. Bit by bit it fell apart, until it was lying in pieces on the floor.

So they did have a weak point. Unfortunately, it wasn't quite as easy to get the other two soldiers to expose their backs. The soldiers fought like crazed warriors, never exposing their backs for a minute. Link finally got himself backed up against a wall, and when one was about to go for the kill, Johan disabled it. After that, they didn't have an incredible amount of trouble, not with two against one.

No, the trouble started when six more came flooding through the door that led to the top of the tower.

It was the same, every time. One man would distract an iron soldier, and the other would disable it, while both of them dodged attacks from the other soldiers at all times. Johan had several bad cuts and bruises; Link had quite a few more, since he was the one doing most of the disabling.

There were now two iron soldiers left in the room. Link and Johan were both tired. "I got it," Johan said. He got out the knife and shot a ball of light at one of the soldiers. It promptly bounced off, but the thing turned toward him. The other one rushed towards Link, sword raised, but he ducked and disabled it, much like he had the first one. Then he turned around and got the other one.

"Please let that be the last one," Link panted.

The door ahead of them opened of its own accord.

"Thank the Goddesses."

The music from the organ got louder. Link and Johan walked through the door slowly, keeping a wary eye out for traps. They were again at the spiral staircase. It rose up and up, higher and higher...and the higher they went, the more they climbed, the louder the music became...and the tighter Link wrapped his arms around himself in an effort to stop the horrible cold from giving him hypothermia.

Eventually, he started to feel sick to his stomach. At one point he even had to lean against the wall for a moment to steady himself. The mere presence of Ganondorf overwhelmed him. He didn't stay against the wall too long, however; it felt like ice.

Johan became more concerned by the second. With every stair they climbed, Link looked paler and sicker.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Johan asked again.

"I'm fine," Link said, in a repeat of what he had said every other time Johan had asked. "I gotta do this. I can't let his traps and cold stop me. I gotta do this; I'm the only one who can."

Johan remained silent and kept climbing stairs. The organ music was deafening now.

"I hate this thing," Link muttered, glaring at the mark on his hand. "I wouldn't be so damn cold if it wasn't here."

The organ music shook the walls, its pitch becoming steadily higher and more menacing. Link's pulse raced. He took a breath to calm himself, but it was unsuccessful. He had never felt so sick, so afraid, or so cold in his life.

The organ reached the highest pitch, and then cut off abruptly. Then there was a scream.

"Zelda!" Link gasped. As he raced up the stairs, pushing himself past the sickness, the cold, and his fear—fear of the monster who had ripped apart Hyrule, killed his parents, fear of the intense horror that surged above him, the screaming continued, the jerking, pleading screams. Link left Johan behind—he had to get to Zelda before it was too late.

The screaming was cut off suddenly, just as the organ had been. Link found the top of the stairs at last, found a door, and he kicked it open.

A truly horrible sight met his eyes; Ganondorf had Zelda pinned against the wall, one powerful hand holding both of her wrists above her, and the other grasping her chin tightly. His face was pressed into hers in a brutal kiss, and though she was struggling, she was no match for him.

Ganondorf broke away from Zelda, who began sobbing, and glanced at Link.

"That was fun, princess, I want to do it again...."

"Not in this lifetime!" Link shouted, running forward, toward the source of the cold. "Leave her _alone_!"

Ganondorf threw Zelda to the floor roughly. Link spotted Navi fly down from the crystal and go to her, and he ran to her side to see if she was okay.

"Are you all right?" Link asked desperately, as he helped her to her feet. Her hands were freezing when he touched them—even colder than his own.

Zelda was no longer sobbing, but silent tears continued to roll down her face. She couldn't even nod, she was paralyzed by her fear, and the intense cold running throughout her body. She had been so close...another two minutes, and he would have....

Zelda began sobbing again. She couldn't answer Link, or warn him—

"Link, look out—!" Navi cried.

Before Link could turn, he felt a strong hand grab the back of his tunic and lift him into the air. Link was turned so that he faced Ganondorf, then a strong punch was delivered to his jaw, sending him flying backwards next to Zelda again. He got up shakily and tried to steady himself against the wall, which was so cold it burned. A freezing sweat covered his body.

The door was again kicked open, but this time it was by Johan. He whipped out the dagger and shot something at Ganondorf, who deflected it with a mere flick of his wrist, but turned his attention to Johan. He delivered another punch, one that left Johan unconscious. Zelda stood shaking in the corner. Navi was hovering near her, trying to calm her down.

Ganondorf punching Johan gave Link time to draw his sword. The blade of evil's bane. His last hope. His only hope. If he could so much as touch Ganondorf with it...if he could have the blade of evil's bane touch an evil force of that _magnitude_....

"Hold it right there."

Ganondorf, who had been advancing on Johan once more, turned around.

"You got a fight to pick," Link said. "It's with me. Coward," he spat. "You leave my friends out of it."

Link's electric blue eyes bore into Ganondorf's blood red ones.

"You ruined my life. You killed my mother. You killed my father. You destroyed both of my homes. You had my best friend locked up and tortured for a year. You wiped out the Shekiah, the Gorons, and the Zoras. You tore down Hyrule Castle. You hurt my family. You tried to...you hurt Zelda. And, seventeen years ago, you tried to kill me too."

Link's voice did not waver, even when Ganondorf pulled out a set of scimitars.

"Well guess what? It didn't work. I'm alive anyway. And after being imprisoned in the Sacred Realm for eternity, you'll wish I had killed you."

"Only if you make it out alive," Ganondorf hissed venomously. "And I assure you, that is not going to happen."

Link rushed forward with his sword and tried to give a blow to Ganondorf's arm. Ganondorf blocked with his own sword, then used his other sword to lash out at Link's side. Link received a searing cut; but it was not fatal—he hoped. He ducked to avoid Ganondorf's next attack, but he was kicked to the ground. Ganondorf put his sword at Link's throat, daring him to move.

"Now isn't this familiar?" Ganondorf sneered. "I fought someone who looked like you once. Had your eyes. I think his name was Samuel. Of course, I killed him...what a pity. It was fun. I still remember the way he screamed."

Anger boiled inside Link as he had never known before. He kicked Ganondorf, and with lightning quick reflexes, moved before Ganondorf's sword killed him. He reach for his own sword, which had been lying inches away, and put all his weight behind it, driving it on one of Ganondorf's scimitars. The scimitar flew out of Ganondorf's hand, and landed on the floor near the sobbing Zelda. She mustered enough strength against her fear of him to reach down, pick it up, and break the brittle metal in two.

"Not bad, for someone like you," Ganondorf growled.

He tossed away the other scimitar, laughing horribly. He rose away from the ground, high into the air, where Link couldn't reach him. He held out his hand and a ball of lightning formed. He reeled back and threw it at Link hard.

Big mistake.

Link remembered the phantom which he had to fight to free Saria. He held up his sword and the spell bounced off—right back at Ganondorf.

The King of Evil screamed, then fell back down to the floor. Link rushed up to him, finally able to attack, but Ganondorf grabbed the unbroken scimitar and pounced. He leaned back, then sprang forward with his feet. His hard boots grazed Link's shoulder, knocking him down. Again, he put his scimitar at Link's throat. Then he just laughed. Laughed, knowing Link's end was near. It was because he was laughing that he did not see Johan creep up behind him.

Johan, in one swift movement, hit Ganondorf over the head and threw a small pouch at Link.

Ganondorf turned around, furious. Link was still dazed from his fall, from fighting the losing battle against Ganondorf. He did not act quickly enough to prevent it.

Johan had known it might happen. That was why he tossed the pouch of powder to Link; it might have been his last chance. Link's life was more important than his own.

In one swift movement that seemed to take ages, Ganondorf drove his sword into Johan's chest. Link saw the red tip of it poking out on the other side.

Each movement took an eternity. Link got up, rushed to Johan's side as Ganondorf flew up into the air again, laughing.

More clearly than ever...he saw the person in his dreams fall. The hood fell off, revealing the face...the one that had looked so familiar....

"Arrows," Johan muttered as Link reached his side. "Put it on your arrows...."

He grimaced and held his stomach, which was bleeding freely. "Sorry," he muttered. "Good luck."

His eyes closed, the grimace left his face. The ragged breathing stopped.

Link was angrier than he had ever been in his entire life. The crimes Ganondorf had committed...but this was too much.

He looked at the pouch in his hands. He looked up at Ganondorf. Ganondorf taunted him.

"What's the matter, Link? Did I kill your friend? Good, I meant to. It was fun. Now he's gone forever, not coming back," Ganondorf growled maliciously. He laughed that horrible laugh again. Link stared at the pouch in his hands. He whipped off his quiver, and dumped all the powder that was in the pouch out. His arrows began to glow...with light.

Light, in the darkest hour....

A gift from Johan...from the Goddesses...it was light.

Link put one in his bow, noticing that the laughter had ceased. He aimed it carefully—for Ganondorf's heart. Or where his heart was supposed to be. He let the arrow fly, wanting more than anything to be the one that killed Ganondorf—

Ganondorf moved a fraction of an inch, just in time to miss the arrow. However, he was blinded by the substance he hated so much, by the light. He fell to the floor.

Link ran forward and put his own sword at Ganondorf's throat. He had not realized until then what the King of Evil feared—death.

Ganondorf shook as Link held the sword a mere fraction of an inch away from his skin. One touch from it and he would be blown through the wall.

"Mercy," rasped Ganondorf. "Have mercy."

"Give me one good reason. Why the hell should I?"

Ganondorf could think of no reason. He lay there on the floor at the Hero of Time's feet.

"Go on!" Link yelled.

More silence. Then Ganondorf pleaded again.

"Mercy...have mercy...."

"What have you done to deserve mercy? Tell me! _What have you done?_" Link screamed.

There was still no answer.

"This is for my mom and dad, Johan, Saria, the Gorons, the Zoras, the Shekiah, Zelda, Darunia, Kylia, and every last person you ever murdered. Rot in hell," Link snarled, and he took the sword away for a brief nanosecond, then drove it through Ganondorf's chest. He twisted the sword and Ganondorf screamed.

Then Link realized he was murdering someone—he pulled the sword out. Killing was one thing, but making it a slow, painful death...that was beneath him.

The end of his sword was red.

"Damn you," Ganondorf snarled. "You won't leave here alive."

His eyes closed, but the ragged breathing continued. Link looked down spitefully at him, then ran over to Zelda.

"Are you okay?" he asked, deep concern in his now clouded blue eyes.

She managed to nod through her tears. Navi was sitting on her shoulder, dumbstruck.

"Johan...."

Her words were unheard by Link, who was hugging Zelda tightly, trying to calm her down. They both needed the warmth. Ganondorf was dying, but the icy cold remained.

All of the sudden, the stained glass windows shattered, as if someone had thrown a rock at all of them at once. The glass shards hit Link's hands, cutting them open, causing blood to leak on the triangle mark on his hand. The stones from the ceiling began to fall in, like huge rocks falling everywhere. Zelda screamed.

Link looked over at Johan's lifeless form and felt angry beyond all measure again.

A stone fell down to where Link and Zelda stood. They were wrenched apart when dodging it. Navi was jerked off of Zelda's shoulder.

"Navi!" Link yelled. "Zelda!"

Zelda managed to fight her way through al the falling debris to Link's side.

"Wh-where is Navi?"

"Navi, where are you?" Link yelled.

She sent him a telepathic message.

_Just go,_ her voice said. _Go. Now. Link, run, damn it, run!_

_But—_

He couldn't leave her. She would die.

_Go!_ she thought. _Link, just go—_

Link had no choice. Another stone fell down, blocking his pathway to the rest of the room. He started running down the stairs, making sure Zelda went ahead of him. Several times rocks fell down, and he had to find a different path.

The outer walls collapsed. Link was now standing outside. Zelda was running ahead of hm, but after she had gone, a rock fell, breaking away a section of the staircase.

Link made the mistake of looking down.

He was hundreds of feet in the air, with no way across but to jump. But he was scared, truly afraid. What if he fell, like at Death Mountain?

Navi's words flitted through his memory.

"Link, hurry!" Zelda cried.

Link looked down again. He had to face his fears. He took a few steps back, ran forward, and leaped. He flew through the air for one second, then landed safely on the other side. He took Zelda's hand and they continued running.

They ran forever.

They reached the bottom just in time, and rushed out the door. The storm had gone. They ran away from the evil black tower as fast as possible, not looking back, not until the black rocks lay in a heap of rubble at their feet.  
  
AN: What, didn't like they dying? Go ahead and yell at me. But trust me, the next chap--or maybe the one after--will make up for this terrible...tragedy. Please, I'm begging you, reveiw. Unless you don't like me anymore cause I killed off people. ;-; Flames welcome. Please no spoilers.


	31. Chapter ThirtyFive: The King of Evil

Author's Notes: Yay! No one hates me! I'm so glad! I've had this chapter planned forever...please read it and give me a review! And as usual, please **_DO NOT_** spoil anything in your reveiw.  
  


Chapter Thirty-Five: The King of Evil

Link turned eyes that were filled with pain towards Zelda.

"They're gone...Johan...Navi...they're gone...."

Link walked forward to the silent pile of rubble. He began moving rocks, one after another.

"Navi might still be here...I have to find her...."

His voice held no emotion, but his eyes said everything.

Zelda walked up to him, still crying herself, from the fear. "Link...."

But she had no idea what to say. He had just lost two friends who he held dear; there were no words that could comfort him...and she couldn't bring herself to extinguish his hope, his unreasonable belief, that a small fairy had survived this....

A single tear made its way down Link's face, his dirty face, covered in sweat and grime and his blood—and the blood of Ganondorf.

Zelda's tears were now for him. Full of sorrow for him.

"Link...she's not there. You won't find her."

"I have to!" Link's voice broke and he began picking up the rocks and throwing them aside. "I have to find her, I—"

Link gasped sharply. He had just unearthed Ganondorf's corpse.

"Oh, Farore...."

"What?" Zelda asked. She walked forward cautiously.

"No, don't—don't look—"

Link glanced back at the body, and realized, to his horror, that the King of Evil lived. Just barely, but he lived.

"Oh, Goddesses, no...he's alive...."

These words struck a deep, ringing fear into Zelda.

Ganondorf, to further Link's horror, opened his eyes.

"I'm not through yet," he growled.

Thunderclouds that bore no rain began to gather above the ruins. Lightning flashed dangerously.

"Link...Link, let's get out of here!"

Zelda was afraid. Afraid of Ganondorf, what he might do to her, if he got back up. How was it possible that he had lived?

The Triforce of Power flickered to life. Ganondorf was filled with hate, a horrible hate, Link could feel it, pulsing through the air...and all that hate was directed at _him_....

Ganondorf screamed; the power rushed to his body one last time, the Triforce he held giving him strength for one last battle. The hate in his soul twisted his features, and an evil purple light radiated form him, the waves of darkness and hate pouring over Link and Zelda. Ganondorf grew, became uglier than ever before, and finally his physical form showed the terrible monster that he truly was...Ganondorf had been nothing, _nothing_, compared to this monstrosity...and this...this...this was the true King of Evil.

It was Ganon, now. The King of Evil. The most powerful being in Hyrule.

The huge pig-like beast roared and struck out at Link, who jumped backwards. The beast roared again, only angrier at missing its target, and with one sweep of its massive hand, knocked Link backwards, and the Master Sword, Link's only tool against vanquishing Ganon, flew out of his hand. Link scrambled to his feet to get it, but a ring of flame burst from nowhere, cutting him off from everything but the Evil King. Link realized that even Zelda was on the other side. His hope of getting out alive trickled away.

_No!_ Link thought. _No! I can't give up, can't give in, not now! I've worked too long and hard just to die without a fight!_

He still had his arrows. His Light Arrows. They were his only hope.

He jumped backwards again as Ganon struck out with its huge claws. He knocked over a huge stone, and Link managed to avoid it just in time. Shaking, he drew out his bow and arrows. The wonderful archery abilities he had inherited from his mother began to work to their fullest extent as he took aim while dodging the attacks of the Evil King. He let the magic arrow fly, and it landed right on target; Ganon screamed with agony as the light hit him directly in his eyes. While he was screaming, Link pulled back and let another arrow loose. His only thought was to stay alive long enough to figure out a plan.

Ganon swung out blindly with its huge claws and another rock exploded. Several of the pieces hit Link, and he felt one create a deep gash on his chest, and he cried out in pain. Somewhere behind him, Zelda gasped. Link picked up his bow again, but he had to move out of the way before he could shoot; Ganon had recovered and was madly attacking Link; as if its only desire was to see the Hero of Time die before him.

Link let another arrow fly; it was a blind shot, however, and just grazed the beast's arm. The monstrosity got angrier and picked up a stone that was twice its size. It threw the stone at Link, hard. Link jumped out of the way, but his foot became pinned under the huge rock. Fortunately, nothing seemed broken, but Link was now pinned to the spot.

Zelda gasped again. "Link!"

Link grabbed his arrows again, and aimed carefully. Just as it reared back, ready to strike, he shot the beast in the eyes again. While it screamed, he freed himself from the rubble and moved behind it. He grabbed a piece of the rubble and threw it at Ganon. It didn't even faze him. Link let every arrow he had pierce the tough skin of the monster, hoping the overkill would do it, but without the Master Sword, defeating Ganon was impossible.

He reached his last arrow, and the powder in the bottom of the quiver had almost run out. He aimed straight for the eyes once more, and the arrow hit right on target. Ganon screamed again. Link was out of arrows, out of light, out of hope.

"Goddesses, help me," he said out loud as Ganon recovered from the light and turned towards him. "Please, don't let it all be for nothing, someone, anyone, help me!"

He was about to die. No denying it.

He was on his own now. At four months old, his parents had been there to protect him. Until he was ten, Saria had shielded him from the other children. Even at seventeen, Johan had been there, always watching, coming along when he was needed the most....

He remembered so many things as the weary beast crept towards him. Navi, at the top of the tower, telling him to go without her, his first meeting with the cloaked stranger in the destroyed Inn, falling from Death Mountain and living, finding his only family right under his nose....

Saria, attending to his scraped knees, reading him stories at bedtime, standing up for him against Mido. Saria, locked up and beaten, then ready to sacrifice her medallion so that he could live....

Navi telling him not to stay in the tower to look for her, knowing he would die if he did....

Johan had distracted Ganondorf...and had been killed....

_"Link, you're the last hope for every person in Hyrule. If your parents had lived, if Alanai had given you up for the antidote to that poison, Hyrule would have no hopes."_

His parents had died so he could live...so he could grow up and get married and have kids, so he could have friends and find his family and have a wonderful life, so he could one day save the land that they all held so dear to their hearts...so it could have a chance....

So this murderer would someday vanish from their lives forever.

So many people had sacrificed so much for him...he couldn't, _wouldn't_, let it go to waste. He had lost too much, worked too hard, fought too long, to just give up.

"You chose me," Link said quietly and calmly, looking up at the sky, and not at the glowing yellow eyes that were slowly approaching him. "You chose me and now I'm backed into a corner. If you want this world to live, you damn well better help me out."

How many times, Link wondered, had someone begged the Goddesses to help them? How many times had their pleas gone unanswered? They were not to interfere with Hyrule's affairs. They made the land, they were to sit back and watch what happened. Many people had died begging for mercy from the Goddesses, at the hands of many killers, and many unwilling souls. Many people had abandoned belief in a higher power, knowing miracles not to exist, because of the injustice in the world. Many people had blamed their miseries on the ones who supposedly controlled everything. Many people scoffed at the power of everything that they could not see with their eyes.

They were wrong.

At that moment, the thunderclouds swelled and rain poured down from the heavens.

There _was_ light in every dark corner, the Goddesses really _did_ have mercy in their hearts. Miracles truly _could_ happen, if one just had enough faith.

The flames that had separated Link from his sword died down in the pouring rain, and Link ran to Zelda, pulled up his sword, and gave her a weak smile. Then he ran back to the fight.

"Be careful," she murmured. Knowing herself to be the Seventh Sage, the one who would have to call forward all the other sages to imprison Ganon, she began concentrating, trying to gather power. She closed her eyes; she would be unable to help Link in this state—after all, she would be unable to see, and almost unable to hear—but she had no choice.

"Okay, Ganon," Link called up to the beast. "We're even now. You're strong, but not even you can match the power of the Goddesses."

Link knew that the Goddesses had finally taken sides, and that they were on his. He wasn't expecting any more miracles, but he knew that they would be cheering for him, from wherever they dwelled, and that was enough.

Link charged forward with his sword, delivering several deep gashes to Ganon. He cut the beast's tail, legs, and anything else he could reach. But his efforts were useless; he monster was more powerful than the blade now. It knocked struck Link, sending him flying backwards onto a rock. The rock tipped and fell on top of him, shattering when it hit the earth. Link groaned in pain, then got up and shook the shattered fragments of stone from him—only to be knocked backwards, again, and again, and again.

Link got up each time, grasping his sword, striking the monster's legs for a brief moment before being knocked backwards again. And as he got up for the last time, struck out at the beast with one last swing, Ganon picked him up and threw him down so hard that he sank several inches into the hard earth.

It hurt like all hell....

He did not have the strength to get up, or even pray that something would distract Ganon. He just lay there in the pouring rain, trying to accept what was coming, waiting for his death.

Then there came a shout, coming from a female voice, a voice that sounded familiar to him.

"You leave him alone!"

A pebble flew through the air and struck Ganon on the side of the head. Link managed to lift his face from the ground to look and see what idiot had done that.

Ganon's Tower had not only been surrounded by a storm, but it had also been on an island, hovering over a pit of lava. There was a small gap between the island and the rest of the world; not small enough for anyone to leap across, but definitely small enough so that someone could throw a pebble and have it land on the other side. The land closest to the island was raised a bit, of course, so someone could have stood there and thrown the pebble with ease.

In fact, they could have remained there, after throwing the pebble. And they had.

Link gasped as he saw the villagers of Kakariko standing on the raised land, accompanied by the Gerudo Army. Link even saw Malon and Talon in the group. Kara was at the front of the crowd; it was she who had thrown the pebble.

A little brown headed boy trotted up to her side; this was unmistakably her brother. He too picked up a pebble, and threw it through the air, shouting, "Yeah, stop hurting him!"

"You'll pay for what you've done to Hyrule!"

"Yeah, you coward, hiding here all this time!"

"Leave him alone!"

"Go crawl back in the pit you came from!"

The air was thick with flying rocks. Ganon was not fazed by them, but by the unity, the love, of all the people throwing them. Hylian and Gerudo, side by side, continued to throw rocks and shout, and Link knew that with Ganon in this weakened state, one more arrow would make him weak enough for Zelda to call the sages. One more arrow, to rub in the last of the powder in the bottom of his quiver....

"Hey, Link!"

Something was darting through the pebbles...something white...but he could not see what it was....

It flew closer, and he realized what it was. A fairy. The same fairy, in fact, who had flown out of a window in the Black Tower and told the Kakariko villagers that Link needed them; the same fairy who Link had thought to be dead. This fairy was _Navi_. And she was carrying an arrow.

"I thought you could use this!" she shouted, over the angry yells of the people of Hyrule. "You got one last shot, Hero of Time! Make it count!"

She tossed the arrow to him. Link, dirty, bloody, weak, injured, and tired, flashed her his famous grin, took careful aim, and let loose with the arrow.

It hit Ganon squarely in the back, and he screamed with rage and pain.

Zelda felt it. He was weak enough. The moment was now.

"Now," she cried. "Open the gate!"

In the Sacred Realm, Rauru held his arms up high, holding his medallion, intent on saving his homeland from destruction. Saria grasped her medallion, her only thought of her best friend. Darunia closed his eyes, remembering the screams of his son. Ruto shed one tear as she thought of the corpses in Zora's Domain. Impa concentrated her power, thinking only of Zelda's safety. Kylia clenched her fists as she thought of the monster that had killed Johan.

And in the world below, Zelda thought of her father. A portal began to form. Small at first, but it grew bigger with each person in Hyrule who wanted Ganon out of it. The hopes, dreams, and wishes of the people united to create one blazing white portal, to the endless, unbreakable void in the Sacred Realm. Wind whirled from it, pushing everything back. Link fought forward, fought through the wind to the coldness that radiated from Ganon.

Then, with one final shove, the Hero of Time pushed the King of Evil into the portal.

He instantly transformed back into Ganondorf. His eyes were still red, red as blood.

"Damn you sages...damn you, Zelda! And damn you, Link! I'll be back, you'll see! I'll kill you and all of your descendants! As long as I have my Triforce, I will not rest until I've had my revenge! You haven't seen the last of me, Hero of Time...!"

His threats died as the portal closed.

For a moment, all was still. Zelda began to cry silently. Several other people did the same.

"It's over," Zelda whispered. "It's finally over."

There was a shout from the crowd of people standing by the island.

"Long live Link and Zelda, saviors of Hyrule!"

The cheering was so loud that it could have been heard from the next country over.

A final piece of debris fell down and made a bridge to connect Link, and everyone else.

In five seconds flat, he and Zelda were being carried upon the shoulders of many crying people. Navi flew near their knees, shouting happily. The cheering went on and on, lasted forever. Even after they put Link and Zelda down, it continued. People were patting Link on the back and hugging him; several people even kissed him on the cheek; one of which Zelda. She hugged him hard.

"Thank you...it would have never happened if not for you...."

He laughed and hugged her back.

"We all did it. Together."

But Zelda couldn't help notice the pain in his eyes.

"Link," she asked hesitantly, "are you okay?"  
  
Link shook his head. "Not really. I just feel like Johan should be here, celebrating with us."

"I...I can send you back," Zelda choked, sounding close to tears at the very thought.

A hush fell over the cheering people. All was silent.

"Wh-what?" said Link.

"Back...to your childhood. Where you're supposed to be...when you're supposed to be...the way you're supposed to be."

Link had dreamed of it for so long that for a moment he thought he was dreaming of it yet again.

She could see his answer written all over his face. She hated it; but he deserved to be happy. He had done so much, asked for so little in return.

"Link, give me the Ocarina of Time. I need it to send you back."

Link was quiet for a long time. He pulled out the ocarina, looked it over carefully, and then looked up at Zelda, who was holding back tears.

"No." Link put the ocarina back in his pocket.

Zelda's eyes went wide. "Wh-what? Why not? I thought...."

"Leaving is something I want more than anything. But I couldn't do that. I have to stay here, help rebuild. If I went back, to a timeline where there is no Ganondorf, I'd be gaining a lot; my parents, a real, normal life, Johan. But I'd be losing a whole lot more."

Link smiled. "I would have never met Saria. I would have never met Navi. Kylia wouldn't exist. I'd have a boring life. I wouldn't have any of the things I do now. Zelda, I couldn't leave. Despite how it happened, this is my time now, this is my life, and I'm going to live it the best way I can."

On his final word, there was a loud rumbling. From the crowd of people who had before been silent, there were gasped and shocked murmurs.

Three Hylian women were making their way through the crowd, towards Link. Everyone was making haste to move out of their way.

One Hylian wore a solid blue dress. Her eyes were a deep, sea blue, and they were sparkling. She had her long dark hair pulled back in a braid. Another Hylian woman had short, spiky red hair, and red eyes. She was wearing a low-cut top and a short skirt, both red. A third Hylian woman had soft brown hair that fell to the middle of her back. Her eyes were forest green, and she was wearing a dark green tunic, and a long dark green skirt.

Link knew who they really were.

They finally reached Link, and they smiled at him.

"Hero of Time," Din said warmly. "You have made a noble choice. It was the one we hoped you would make. You have helped to save Hyrule, and, as a gift to thank you, the saviors of Hyrule may each have one wish, without having the complete Triforce."

Nayru smiled at Zelda. "All of them. Princess Zelda, you may go first."

Zelda's mouth was open in shock. "Anything?" she asked. "Can we even bring people back from the dead?"

Farore smiled. "Of course. Just think the wish to yourself, and within the hour it will be granted."

Zelda closed her eyes, and wished again the wish she had been wishing for seven years.

All three women beamed. "It shall be done."

"Link, Hero of Time, it's your turn," Farore said kindly.

Bring someone back from the dead? Link's first thought was for his mother or his father. But how could he choose?

It took him a long time to make his decision. He closed his eyes and thought his wish.

There was a muffled yell of surprise from under the rubble.

"Will someone let me out of here!" shouted Johan's voice.

Link's features lit up with a smile and he rushed over to help Johan free himself from the rock. He pulled Johan to his feet, and they embraced.

He was back...Link's parents were still gone, but they deserved to rest in peace anyway. But Johan was here, he was back, and he wasn't dying again for quite some time, if Link had his way.

"I saw them," Johan muttered. "In the afterlife."

"Saw who?" Link asked.

"Sam and Alanai. They wanted me to tell you that they love you. And that they're proud to call you their son."

Link swallowed hard, trying desperately to stop the tears. He and Johan embraced again. Then they walked over to Din, Nayru, and Farore.

"Thanks," Link said softly.

Nayru beamed at them. "Navi the fairy, it's your turn to make a wish."

"What?" Navi squeaked. "Me? But what on earth did I do?"

"You helped to save Hyrule. You aided Link in his time of need, both now, and seventeen years ago. The biggest of hearts can live in the smallest things, and for that, you also get a wish."

"Anything?" Navi asked doubtfully.

"Anything."

"In that case," said Navi, "I know _exactly_ what I want."

Navi closed her eyes and thought her wish.

The three women beamed even more.

"A big wish," Din commented. "But we created this world."

"So we can restore it," Nayru finished.

Link and Zelda goggled at Navi.

_"What did she say?"_

"You'll see!"

"Thank you, O Hero of Time," said Farore. "You have fulfilled your destiny well. May your future be bright, and filled with love."

With that, the three women began to glow. The clouds swelled once more, and it began to rain. But it was not normal rain; the drops were red, blue, and green.

The rubble of Ganon's Tower cleaned itself and flew upwards, forming Hyrule Castle. The rain washed away all the death that happened in the last seven years, and Link knew, that somewhere, Death Mountain was being repaired, and the Gorons were living once more. Somewhere, the ice had completely left Zora's river, and living, breathing Zoras replaced the rotten corpses.

The forest was also repairing itself. The grass grew thick and green once more, and the canopy of leaves sheltered the Kokiri homes, which were putting themselves back together, much to the delight of the celebrating Kokiri. And, somewhere in the Great Deku Tree's meadow, a seed, tat looked like a large Deku Nut, could finally sprout, because the evil was gone.

In the Market, the redead took human forms of men, women, and children, took the forms of the people they used to be. The black washed away from it, replaced by the beauty it possessed seven years ago.

The people rushed from the Market to what was now Hyrule Castle again. The land had been repaired, and the lava was gone; the palace looked more beautiful than ever before.

A man in his late thirties ran up to Kara, picked her up, and swung her around in a circle. She looked overjoyed. "Dad!" she said happily, tears in her eyes.

It was a beautiful reunion. The people who had been killed by the Evil King were now coming back to life, and reuniting with their families. Everyone was crying; the children, the Gerudo, the women and the men. Not even Link could keep his eyes dry.

A new day dawned on Hyrule. It looked beautiful, especially from Link's point of view. He couldn't wait to live it.

AN: Heh, I tried to make it a tearjerker I guess I need practice. I had fun doing the pebble bit though. Maybe the next chapter will be more tear-jerkerish. I hope so. Please reveiw! Two, maybe three more chappies and it's all over! :') Then I can start the sequel, yay.  
  
—The Gemini Sage 


	32. Chapter ThirtySix: Happily Ever After

Author's Notes: This will serve as te epilougue until I actually figure out a good way to write a real one. That means...this is the last chapter! OMG! ::hugs everyone::  
  


Chapter Thirty-Six: Happily Ever After

As Hyrule returned to its normal state, the danger faded, and the sages were released from the Sacred Realm. They appeared out of nowhere in the crowd. Everyone began congratulating them, just as they had done to Link and Zelda.

Saria, the tiny ten year old Saria, knocked people over, in her haste to get to Link. She hugged him hard when she found him at last, tears streaming over her face. Impa wept as she found Zelda and embraced her like a mother.

Kylia was having trouble even moving around. Every last Gerudo woman there was patting her on the back, cheering for her, hugging her. She finally found Tara, Jai, and Ani. She hugged all three of them.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered to Tara.

"Sorry? On a day like this? Don't be sorry, be happy! Let's party!"

Tara laughed and cried and hugged Kylia one more.

The Gerudo definition of the word "party" meant everyone would be laid up awhile. Kylia laughed. She moved away from her friends and sought to find the one other person she had been waiting to see. He too, was fighting through the crowd to get to her.

Words failed them for a brief moment as they stared at each other. Then Kylia ran up to Johan and hugged him hard, and they both began crying. Everyone was crying. Standing outside of Hyrule Castle, all of Hyrule cried their eyes out.

"Impa," Zelda shouted, "Impa, come on! I want to see if my wish was granted yet!"

Impa blinked, but followed Zelda. What _had_ Zelda wished for?

Link, who was busy being suffocated by hugs from Malon and Talon, pried himself loose and followed Zelda and Impa into Hyrule Castle.

Zelda was overjoyed. Everything looked just like it used to. The guards greeted her warmly as she rushed to her room upstairs. Oh, how long it had been....

Zelda entered her room with Link and Impa following behind. She walked to the middle of it, spinning around with her eyes closed. Then she heard a sharp gasp.

Zelda opened her eyes. There, standing by the doorway, was King Harkinian. He looked upon his grown up daughter with tears in his eyes. "Zelda...my Zelda...."

"Daddy!"

Zelda rushed into his arms. Link and Impa smiled, just watching the scene play out. It wasn't long before Malon and Talon joined them, along with the rest of the sages and Johan.

"The only thing that's left for us to do," Saria declared, "is to go home."

As the rest of the sages had not seen their home in years, this was met by applause. And so, the Sages of Hyrule took their leave.

_Home,_ Link thought. Home. _Surely, if the rest of Hyrule is restored...._

"Johan, the Inn!" Link said. Johan's eyes widened and he followed Link back to where the Inn used to be, back through the Market, the one full of cheering people. They went inside the old room and pulled away the box. Then they cheered as they discovered that the Inn looked just the same as it had when Link left.

Meanwhile, the sages had gone home at last....

- - -

Rauru embraced the King of Hyrule like a brother. It turned out that they were distantly related, and had known each other quite some time before Rauru "died." Rauru was made the permanent advisor, and was given a new home in Hyrule Castle.

It turned out to be a good decision. Because Rauru was so old, he was wise, and he never lead the King wrong. He helped start a campaign that united Hyrule, all races, all people. He destroyed the hate that one race used t feel for another; they were no longer categorized by race; they were all just known as the people of Hyrule. That was the way it was always meant to be. They had set a new future in motion. And the future looked bright.

- - -

Saria ran up to her brothers and sisters and hugged them all, looking around at her new restored home. She spotted Mido at the back of he crowd, and she ran up to him and hugged him. He hugged her back, and, again, everyone began to cry.

"I'm home," Saria sobbed. "I missed you all so much."

The children gathered around her, cheering. The sky cleared, and Saria freed herself from them and climbed the highest tree in the Lost Woods to look out over her home. She stood on the topmost branches, looking over all of Hyrule, feeling as though she was flying. Soon, the other Kokiri popped out of trees, but none were as tall as the one she had chosen to climb.

"We're flying!" she cried, the wind blowing her hair. "We're free!"

The children cheered.

"You hear that, Ganon? We're free! We're free!"

- - -

Darunia rushed up Death Mountain, eager to get back home. When he reached the doors of Goron City, he found all the Gorons waiting on him.

"Big Brother," one said proudly, "There's someone who wants to see you."

A muffled cry of joy rang out through the city. "Papa, Papa!"

Darunia hadn't dared to believe it. He rushed through the city, pushing his way past cheering Gorons, to the source of those words.

"Papa, Papa!"

Darunia found his son running up to him through the crowd of Gorons, and he picked the child up and held him close.

"I love you," he murmured, cradling his son.

It was then, for the first time in history, that a Goron broke down and sobbed.

- - -

Ruto jumped through the waterfall leading to her home. The ice was gone, and everyone hugged her as she passed up the stairs to her father's chamber. They tried to lift her up, but she was too eager to get to her destination.

There he was, sitting in the same place he had always been.

"Daddy!" Ruto ran up to him and hugged him. Then she began to talk; of being a sage, and of the handsome man she had met on her adventures , not aware of the handsome Zora behind her, who had had eyes for her for a long time....

- - -

Impa remained in Hyrule Castle. She served as Zelda's protector, but now Zelda knew she could protect herself, if she needed to. She had grown, a lot. It was a nice change, and she, her father, and Impa lived in the castle...happily ever after.

Impa still missed the rest of the Shekiah; they had been like her family. But she had a new family, now, a new home. And it was great.

- - -

Kylia stepped down as the leader of the Gerudo. She gave the job to Ani, saying that she wanted to go live at the Inn, the place she loved most. She promised to visit often, and, to numerous cheers and shouts, left Gerudo Valley, and headed home.

She was free. Free from Ganon, free from the witches, free from her secret, free from the old prejudice, and now that she was free, she would live life to fullest extent she could, regardless of her skin, regardless of what anyone thought of her. Now that she was free, she would never be imprisoned again.

- - -

Link and Kylia grunted as they pushed a large plank to lean against the wall. Johan had wanted to add rooms to the Inn, above ground, now that everything was back to normal. He realized that he had been hiding, those years he had been living underground. Hiding from the fear of losing someone as he had lost Sam and Alanai, hiding from a past he didn't want to face, hiding from the fighting. But he wasn't afraid anymore, and there was no longer a reason to hide.

So they had began fixing up the Inn. It had been two days now, and people were still celebrating.

Navi, the fairy whose wish had restored Hyrule, Navi, who had summoned the villagers when all hope was lost, stayed with Link. She _was_ his guardian, after all—not that he needed one.

Link swore as he dropped the heavy plank on his foot. Kylia giggled, but tried not to laugh. Even heroes had faults. One of Link's was that he couldn't seem to keep the planks off of his toes.

Link looked up at Hyrule Castle. Johan was currently in the Market, buying furniture, so it was just him and Kylia, lifting those stupid planks. He stared at the castle for a time, then turned to look at Hyrule Field, clearly visible from his viewpoint.

He saw two people walking, a man and a woman, holding hands. The man had a mess of reddish-brown hair on his head, and a suit of armor. Link could see that he had electric blue eyes, even from the distance. The woman was wearing a simple cotton dress, and she had wavy blond hair. They seemed to sense Link's gaze, and they turned to wave at him, smiling. The man had a grin that rivaled Link's own.

Link blinked.

"Hey," he said to Kylia, turning around, "you see those people? Out there in the field?"

Kylia looked past him into Hyrule Field. "I don't see anyone. You sure you hit your foot and not your head?"

Link turned back around to look at the people, but they were gone.

"Weird...I was sure I saw someone standing there...."

"Maybe you were seeing things," Kylia said, as she picked the plank up again. "Ready?"

"Yeah," said Link. "I'm not going to have any toes left when this is over."

Together, they lifted up the board, and began trying to lean it against the wall once more. And for the moment, Link was happy, happy to be doing something with the people he cared about the most, and the thought of the man and woman left his mind.

_This is my future,_ he thought happily. _And just like Farore wished for me, it's going to be full of a lot of love._

- - -

_There's still a lot of things I don't understand,_ Link wrote. _Johan gave me a picture of my folks and they look a lot like the people I saw in Hyrule Field. I guess it's just wishful thinking, though._

_Johan finally finished the room on ground level. He's going to be starting the second story soon. I have a feeling he wants to get it all done before my surprise birthday party that I'm not supposed to know about. Kylia and him are always plotting ways to embarrass me. I think they think its funny._

_Navi is still reminding me about my language every day. What's the big deal, anyway? Can't I cuss? I mean, I did help save Hyrule, can't I have a few liberties?_

_Malon and me finally told Talon that we're cousins. There was a bunch of crying again. Of course, it was everyone else doing the crying. Not me. Speaking of Malon, she got Saria a little horse (she said they're called ponies) or Saria. Now not only can I go visit Saria, but she can come see me too. Yesterday she came over early and woke me up with a bucket of water over my head. Which was funny, after I stopped being mad._

_Zelda was there, and she laughed her head off. She's been coming over a lot lately. Trust me, I don't mind. That woman makes me crazy._

_I know I haven't written in this thing in awhile, and I feel bad about that, but I have to go. Johan is calling me to come do something or another. It probably has to do with the remodeling thing. Oh well. I live here, I gotta help him. Life's calling me, so I gotta go live it._

The End.

At least, for now.

AN: I don't know if I'm gonna write the epilougue. The prologue was kinda lame. So...I'll end it here, and maybe one day...omg, this means I can start the sequel! ::hugs everyone who reveiwed:: ::sniff:: I love you guyyys. ::cries::  
  
I can't believe it's done! Almost a whole damn year working on it... ::cries:: Pretty please reveiw....  
  
You'll see the first chap of my next story soon. o.- Love ya all.  
  
--The Gemini Sage


	33. Epilogue

**Author's Notes: **Ha, told you I'd put it up one day. This goes with the prologue on my Angelfire webspace, if you haven't seen it the link is in my profile. All else I wanna say I'll say at the end.

Epilogue

"That was a wonderful story," says the girl. She's close to tears, but tries not to show it. "Link was the hero you knew, right?"

"Yes," the old woman says, smiling.

"You were right," the girl breathes. "He didn't seem like much of a hero at first, I suppose. But he turned out all right."

"Yes, he did, didn't he?"

"Did her really beat Ganon like that?" asks the younger boy.

"Yes."

"What happened to him?" asks the older boy. "Link, I mean."

The woman smiles. "Oh, I don't know, he could still be around here somewhere, I'm sure."

"Did they ever get married?" the girl asks.

"Did who ever get married, darling?"

"Link and Zelda, of course! You said it was a true story and you were there, so...surely you'd know if Link and Zelda ever got married."

"Oh, I certainly do," the old woman answers, and her smile seems to light up her whole face, making her look years younger. "But that part comes later in the story."

"There's more?" the children ask excitedly. The old woman laughs.

"Of course there is! The story will always continue, darlings. It began at the beginning of time and it will never end. All of life is one giant fairy tale."

The children smile.

"Will you ever finish the story?" the girl asks. "I want to hear the rest of it. I never thought something like this could be true, but it is and it's wonderful and I want to know how it all ends. You'll finish it, right?"

But before the girl receives an answer, an old man walks out the front gate of her home and plops down next to the children and the old woman on the grass. He too has gray hair and old, wrinkled face. His eyes match the girl's; they are a piercing, electric blue. Though the rest of the man appears old, his eyes reflect his soul, which is still that of a seventeen year old boy.

"Hiya kids," he says cheerfully. "Whatcha up to?"

"I was telling them the story of the Hero of Time, dear," the old woman says, smiling.

The old man grins. "Oh? What do you kids think of this guy? Is he like a complete nutcase or what?"

The younger boy laughs as the old man begins to tickle him.

"Grandpa, stop it!"

The old man grins again and continues to tickle the little boy until they both run out of breath.

"They want us inside," the old man says at last. "Dinnertime."

Indeed, by this time, the sun is beginning to set. The children get to their feet.

"You'll tell us the rest at bedtime?" the girl asks hopefully.

"If you're not late for dinner," says the old woman, smiling. All the children run inside.

The old man laughs. "I guess they liked the story, huh?"

"I s'pose they did. They asked me if Link and Zelda ever got married."

The old man grins. "So what'd you tell them, Zel?"

"I told them that was later in the story."

The old man grins.

"Ha, real cute," he says. "Just like you, too, to keep those poor children waiting, you must think it's funny. Oh well, s'why I love you, Princess."

"Back at you, Hero," the woman says, closing her eyes for the briefest of moments.

The man takes the woman's hand, and together, the two of them walk back to Hyrule Castle, the colors of the setting sun glowing all around them.

**AN:** Like you don't know who they are. -.-

Again, this goes with the prologue on my dinky Angelfire webspace that I never did put up here. The link is in my profile.

I'm currently in the process of re-writing this entire fic, so that I can have the chapters nice and edited. If anyone's bothered to look at the first chapters again and compare them—wow! I don't have the right grammar and some of the speech and actions seemed forced or unnatural. Plus, not nearly enough detail. I even have my old pen name (which I despise now) on those chapters! So, yeah, I'm re-editing the whole thing, and when I do get it re-edited, I'll put up the prologue and the nice "shiny new" chapters. At the moment I'm in the middle of re-writing Chapter Eleven, and I **dread** the moment when I have to do Chapter Thirteen. ::shudder::

Anyways, it'll get done eventually, but probably not anytime soon. I just wrote this cause I got bored so I'm putting it up. This is the last time this story will be messed with till I get the entire thing re-edited.  
  
Also, since I'm putting this up here...thank you to everyone who reveiwed this story! I love you guys! Seriously!

Bye!

—The Gemini Sage


	34. Revised Prologue

**Author's Notes:** Welcome to my rewrite of my old Ocarina of Time fic! There's not too much done right now, but I'll get there. Rewriting this fic is like getting to do it all over again, so this should be fun! However, it might take awhile; I want to do this right. For now, let's go ahead and get some **warnings** out of the way, hm? You should never get into a fic this long without knowing what you're up for! I don't want anyone to get halfway through and stop reading because things didn't go the way you expected them to!

So, here we go: when it comes to Zelda, **I'm terrible about screwing around with the canon**, and this story is where it started, so it's certainly no exception. The major things to warn about here are: two OCs-that-are-not-Sues (I would tell you more but I don't want to spoil anything; I'll take care to edit out any Sueish traits in the rewrite, especially), Sheik playing a bigger role (dungeons are _very difficult_ to novelize, so I tend to use them as a device to delve into characters and create interesting conversation, and to that end Sheik travels with Link and Navi, and the role of song-teacher is delegated elsewhere), and I refer to Sheik as "she" (quite a controversial thing to do, I hear, but a boy Sheik pops up later, and I don't want to get them confused!), Nabooru is not in this story very much at all (I really don't remember why I did that, but I think it worked out all right, though I would have liked to write with her; woe abounds). There are other canon-related issues, but I believe this covers the majority of them. If you dare, read on. If not; I understand, but why not give it a try? If it stops being interesting, you can always hit "close"!

Oh, one last thing: since I always write with music, I'll post what I was listening to each chapter. If you can't find the song, try YouTube, ZREO, or Google.

_The song for this chapter is max05233157's arrangement of "Title Theme" from the Ocarina of Time soundtrack; it's on YouTube. _

* * *

**Prologue**

_Have you ever dreamed that somewhere out there, there's someone waiting for you? That this isn't all there is?_

_You're not alone._

A girl wearing a light blue dress sits at a grand piano, playing a sweet tune that echoes softly through her home. There's a happy shout from outside the open window and she stops, letting out a groan of frustration. "Why can't you ever _keep it down_..."

She stands, light of the setting sun falling over her face, and the piano bench scrapes over the floor. She stalks to the window, hands on the shutters, squinting against the light-and stops, her gaze falling to the old woman sitting calmly under the relative shade of the old sycamore below, circled by two boys dueling with wooden swords.

"Oh," she breathes, smiling, and her hand flies to her mouth.

She turns, leaving the piano bench pushed back and the window open behind her, and races down the stairs, one hand twisted in her skirts to keep them out of her way. "Grandmother," she calls, before she's even out the front door. "Grandmother!"

The old woman eases herself to her feet, smiling. "Hello, dear-"

"Not a word!" one of the boys shouts. "She has to do what I say, she's my prisoner."

"Not for long," says the other, raising his sword.

"Be quiet, the pair of you," the girl snaps. "Why didn't you _tell_ me she was home? When did you get back?" she adds.

"About an half hour ago-"

"_You_ were busy practicing," one of the boys says. "And you always tell us not to interrupt-"

"_Brothers_," the girl sighs, exasperated. "They only leave me alone when I don't want them to! Would you put those things _away_, please,you're going to poke your eyes out-"

"I think that's the point," the old woman says slyly. "I'm the prisoner at the moment, but it's a close fight. You can go next if you like."

"No thanks." The girl lifts her eyebrows. "Ten is a bit old for playing pretend, don't you think?"

"Not at all," the old woman replies, and neatly folds her knees under her body,sitting back down under the tree. "I'm a _hundred_ and ten, and I'll have you know I haven't gotten too old yet."

The girl smiles as she sits down next to her. "I don't think it _counts_ after you pass a hundred-"

"And," the old woman says, "it's not _pretend_ if the story is true."

"The only true stories are boring ones," the girl says, plucking at a blade of grass. "The ones you tell us couldn't possibly-"

"I haven't told you the best one yet," the old woman says, and winks.

"Is Grandmother telling stories?" one of the boys asks, dropping his sword in favor of plopping down beside them on the grass. "I want to hear!"

"Me too!" the other joins them, games forgotten.

The girl's shoulders slump. "Fine."

"You'll like this one," the old woman promises. "It's about a girl named Zelda."

The girl looks up, fast, blue eyes wide. "But that's _my_ name."

"It was hers first," the old woman says, a smile passing over her wrinkled face. She reaches up and tugs lightly at one of her granddaughter's long ears. "Now, do I have your attention? This story is about a girl named Zelda, just like you, ten years old, just like you."

"But it's just a story," the girl says doubtfully.

"Just a story!" the old woman looks almost offended. "Oh, no. This, child-" She grins, and in the fading light of day it's as though the clock has turned back a hundred years. "This is the stuff of legends."


	35. Revised Chapter One

**Author's Notes:** Consider this an opening of sorts. The original chapter was about 1000-2000 words longer than this, but most of it was drivel that dragged down the pace, so I summarized it more neatly to give the feeling that everything starts happening very quickly, very suddenly. I don't know how successful I was - my work is unbeta'd. :) (Edit: Scratch that. The amazing **Neo Diji** agreed to read over my chapters for me. Thanks for your help! If you guys are into anime, you should definitely go check her out.) The real story begins in the next chapter.

I'd like to point out that while I do tend to screw with the canon quite a bit, Zelda's energetic behavior is actually in the game! One of the Gossip Stones—near the Temple of Time, I think—says that Zelda is actually a tomboy! I put a bit of work into her character, as well as Impa's, and changed the king's name to reflect the name of the king in Wind Waker, though I don't think he'd be white-headed yet! Now he's Daphnes Nohansen Hakinian. :P Isn't he the only one with a last name in that series? I think last names originated in the middle ages, but having no last names is still a pain sometimes...

_The songs for this chapter are Hyrule Symphony's "Opening Theme, and djpretzel's "Pachelbel's Ganon". Try YouTube and OCRemix if you're having trouble getting ahold of them.  
_

* * *

Chapter One

The skies over Hyrule were cerulean blue, with puffy white clouds traveling fast overheard. A strong breeze played around the towers of the castle, ruffling through the hair of a young girl sitting outside on the balcony of the room at the top of the tallest tower. She was determinedly pulling a brush through her long blonde hair, despite the wind; it had gotten all mussed up from her playing earlier, and she was supposed to be downstairs in an hour to meet some of her father's guests, looking presentable. As she pulled the last tangle out of her hair, she sighed in relief and brought a hand up to massage her sore scalp. Relaxed, she leaned over the edge of the balcony, folding her arms along the guardrail as she peered down at the world spread out below her: the stables and the gardens, the archery course and servant's quarters, her special courtyard. Further out in the distance were the markets, which she rarely got to visit, and even further out, the green, rolling plains of Hyrule Fields, which was an even rarer occasion.

As her mind wandered, she caught sight of a carriage coming in through the gate. The guards stood aside to let it by, and as it passed through under her tower, she was hit with a sudden sick sensation. She gasped, and the hairbrush slipped from her hands, landing in one of the fountains below as she stumbled backwards from the railing, shaking. She moved back into her bedroom, leaving her window-door open to the warm afternoon outside, and pulled the quilt from her bed to wrap around herself; she was freezing. It didn't help any, not at first, but as the minutes slid by the cold faded away, and when it was gone entirely she cautiously crept back outside to see if the carriage was still there. But no; there were only two puzzled guards fishing the hairbrush out of the fountain.

"Hello!" she called down to them, leaning far over the railing to get their attention and cupping her hands around her mouth. "Up here!"

The guards looked up, and one of them waved. "Princess Zelda! Does this belong to you?"

"Yes!" Zelda called back. "I've misplaced it, I think! Would you mind sending it back up with Impa?" Impa had always taken care of her, since the day she was born, and she had taken care of her mother before that. She was wise beyond measure. If there was anyone better to get advice from, Zelda did not know of them.

"Not at all, Princess!"

"Thank you!" Sighing, Zelda went back into her bedroom, closing the window behind her this time. Her entire bedroom was pink; most of her clothes were, too. It was a nice enough color, but sometimes it really felt as if it was a bit much...as if the person making all these choices hadn't bothered to find out anything about Zelda beyond her gender.

A few minutes later, as Zelda was changing out of her trousers and into a pale pink gown, there came a knock on the door. "Zelda?"

Finally! "Come in, it's unlocked!" Zelda called, and slid her arm into her dress. As tall and muscular as Impa was, with white hair, red eyes, and tanned skin, any other child might have found her frightening and hesitate before going to her, but Zelda embraced her at once, not caring that the damp hairbrush in Impa's hand dripped on her back. "Impa..."

"My goodness, what's wrong?" Impa asked, shutting the door behind her and standing back from Zelda to look her up and down. "Are you all right? You look a little pale." Impa held the hairbrush up and put it on the dresser. "It was only a brush, sweet. It'll dry out in awhile."

"That's not it." Denied the comforting embrace of her nursemaid, Zelda hugged herself and sat down on her bed, straightening out her blankets. "Something funny happened a moment ago...a carriage came through, and I was hit by this awful sick feeling. I got all cold and had to come in and cover up so I wouldn't be sick."

"Are you ill?" Impa asked, frowning, putting her hand to Zelda's forehead. "No fever. Have you been eating properly?"

"I feel fine!" Zelda insisted. "Or I do now, anyway. It just came and went. Do you know who was in the carriage?"

"I'm afraid I don't," Impa said, smoothing Zelda's hair back. "But we'll look into it. Meanwhile, if you feel fine, we need to get you ready for lunch."

Zelda groaned; she ought to have played sick. She hated formal meals and dinners; she herself was a tomboy, a practical joker of sorts with too much energy. When she wasn't having lessons or attending dinners, she was allowed to do what she liked; usually that meant braiding her long hair to keep it out of the way (her father wouldn't let her cut it) and running around outside, riding horses, practicing archery and looking for snakes in the garden. She wasn't afraid of them like most girls her age, but usually played with them when she found them, coming in and stealing snacks from the kitchen without washing her hands simply because it was unladylike. When the weather was bad, she would beg Impa to play indoor games like hide-and-seek with her, or annoy the castle staff with sugar in the salt shaker and short-sheeted beds. Sometimes she would find her music tutors, the brothers Sharp and Flat, and learn jaunty little tunes on whatever instrument she had yet to try, or on her old favorites, the harp and ocarina.

But for all the fun Zelda had around the castle, she was the only child living in its walls. She wasn't terribly lonely, not with Impa as her constant companion and her tutors to talk to now and then, but sometimes she wished for someone her own age to play with; besides the Lon Lon girl who only visited the castle on deliveries, there was no one. More unlikely still, Zelda wished for her father to spend real time with her. But her father, King Daphnes, was a strict man, and he was always busy with diplomacy. A little over ten years ago, on the day Zelda was born, her mother, Queen Dareene, had been shot by invading troops from the Gerudo Desert, living only long enough after Zelda was born to kiss her on the cheek and name her. Since then, King Daphnes had done all in his power to prevent war from ever happening again, trying to prove that he could do his job despite being married into nobility rather than being born into it. But he never spent any time with Zelda. Zelda asked Impa once why that was, and Impa could only reply that it was because she had her mother's face.

"Does that make me ugly?" Zelda had wondered, as she climbed in bed.

"No, sweet," Impa had told her, sitting down beside her, "it makes you beautiful—your mother was a beautiful lady, and you will be too one day. Seeing her in you brings me joy. But your father, he loved your mother like you and I never could. Sometimes when he sees her in you, it reminds him of what he lost."

"Do you feel that way when you see other Shekiah?" Impa wasn't a Hylian like her, but a Shekian woman whose tribe had fled Hyrule for lands unknown with their children in the civil wars before Zelda was born. The warriors had stayed to defend the castle, and they had been almost completely wiped out, with precious few remaining.

"No." Impa had looked sad, though. "The traditions of the Shekiah I'm going to pass down to you. And you'll remember them all for me one day when I'm gone, won't you?"

"Yes! But please don't leave me, Impa. I love you. You're my only friend."

"I'll stay until you have no more need of me, my Zelda," Impa had promised, and hummed Zelda's lullaby for her until the young princess had fallen asleep.

From then on, Impa had become another tutor for Zelda, teaching her the ways of the Shekiah, from how they dressed and ate to the language itself. She also taught Zelda magic now and then, something innate that was in all the children of the royal family that her mother would have taught her, had she not died so early on. The magic helped her sense things, like where a lost item was or whether or not people were lying to her.

"I wonder," Zelda mused aloud now, as Impa unlocked the cabinet with her jewelry and things, "do you think I was cold a little while ago because of magic?"

"Magic?" Impa asked, turning and handing Zelda two rings, a pair of earrings, and a necklace to put on. "I don't know, it's possible. You are getting better at sensing things; maybe something was wrong with the carriage after all. Come to think of it, I believe one of the men you're supposed to be meeting on lunch was on the carriage. No one else was supposed to arrive today."

"Let's go down and see who it was, then," Zelda said, standing up fast. She grabbed her jewelry and put it on, waiting impatiently while Impa placed the royal tiara on her head. "And _yes_, I'll behave!"

* * *

The lunch party was a rather informal affair, with guests milling about and King Daphnes mingling with them. Zelda was relieved that she didn't feel the cold she had felt earlier; parties were bad enough without being sick on top of it. Zelda met with several of her father's new friends, most of them boring, stuffy old men, and had something to eat. Her guard relaxed; probably the cold earlier was nothing, right? She hadn't felt anything like it since...

It was in the middle of the party when her father made a formal announcement; he had a new diplomat staying in the palace with them. As Zelda watched, the man came into the center of the room, far from where she was, and spoke to the crowd briefly. She paid no attention to his words, but his appearance she studied closely. Red eyes, so dark they were almost black, and flaming red hair. His tan was deeper than Impa's, and he was just as tall and muscular as she. He wore all black armor, though, and it frightened Zelda; she was feeling cold and ill again. "Impa," she whispered, tugging at her nursemaid's hand.

Impa's jaw was set, and she didn't hear Zelda at first. It took her a moment to look down. "What is—Zelda!" Impa exclaimed softly. "You're pale again. What's wrong?"

"I feel sick," Zelda whispered, hugging herself. "I'm cold. I'm so cold."

Impa looked up at the man in the room, eyes blazing. Then she tore her eyes away from him to find a guard standing nearby. "Please inform His Highness that the princess has taken ill," she said, and without another word, picked Zelda right up to carry her back up to her room.

* * *

"Who was that man?" Zelda asked when they got back upstairs. She had been undressed and put into her nightgown in the middle of the day; the sickness had persisted half an hour after she left the party, thought the cold had vanished. She was drinking tea Impa had made from an old Shekian recipe, sitting up in bed so as not to spill any.

"The Gerudo king," Impa replied tightly. "His name is Ganondorf. The nerve of him, showing up here—he was the one who started the civil wars ten years ago. He was responsible for all those deaths! And now your father has him living under this roof, it's—it's _shameful._" She spoke with prejudice; she, like the remaining Shekiah, absolutely despised the Gerudo for wiping out their people in the civil war. Still, her words rang true; the man's name was hated by more than just the Shekian people. "Sweet, we have to tell your father. He needs to know there's something about this man that's evil. He can't be allowed to stay here with you."

"I'm afraid," Zelda confessed, sipping her tea. "I know he won't believe me."

"We have to try," Impa insisted. "Tonight, after dinner. Do you promise me?"

Zelda hesitated, and then nodded. She trusted Impa. "I promise."

* * *

But King Daphnes did not want to hear what they had to say. First he told Zelda it was only her imagination, then accused her of trying to get attention. By the end of the conversation, Zelda was in tears.

"You have to understand, Zelda," her father had said. "Unless we want war with the Gerudo again, we must ally ourselves with them, make certain we have a strong bond of friendship with their people. You'll understand when you're older."

"But why with him?" Zelda asked. "Why does he have to stay here?"

The king's face set. "Because I say so, Zelda, and that's final. Do I make myself clear? Impa, take her up and put her to bed. I'll see you both tomorrow."

* * *

From there on out, the situation only grew worse. Zelda could not tolerate being in the same room with Ganondorf, and rarely had to, but dinners became a big problem. If she "misbehaved" during the meal, her father would send her to bed without supper, but rarely could Zelda stop her shakes. Impa fell into the habit of bringing Zelda's dinner up to her in the evenings, and she and Zelda would sit and talk about old Shekiah legends to ease the princess's mind before sleep.

Still, it wasn't long before the dreams began.

The first dream had seemed harmless enough. Zelda dreamed she was standing in Hyrule, in the fields she so rarely got to see. It was a good dream, a happy dream—everyone she loved stood around her. She would flop on her back in the grass and gaze at the sky until she woke, never noticing the dark clouds on the edge of the horizon.

One night, however, the dream changed. Zelda was lying in the grass when the clouds snuck up on her. Before she knew it, they were covering the sky, and everyone around her was vanishing one by one. The clouds were like mountains, coming closer and closer to her and consuming everything in their path, and when she looked very carefully, Zelda could see red eyes glaring down at her from behind the clouds. And she heard laughing, and knew that it was _him_. Ganondorf was laughing at her from behind those clouds. "Impa!" Zelda called. "Impa...!" But Impa was nowhere to be found. Zelda sank to her knees, terrified, crouching low to try and look at anything but those awful eyes on her.

And just when she thought she could bear it no longer, the clouds parted for the briefest instant. A light shot through the opening, piercing the darkness, driving the evil away. The laughter faded and Hyrule was restored, but Zelda still stood alone. She squinted at the source of light, trying to see where it had come from, but it was so bright all she could make out was a silhouette—there was a boy.

Each night she had the same dream, and each night she dreaded the clouds more and more. But with the dreams came the increasing confidence that there was someone out there just like her—someone who knew Ganondorf was evil, someone who could drive him away. Each night he walked closer and closer to her, and she made out more and more of him. He was followed by a little ball of light, and wore all green. He carried a green jewel in one hand, with a sword and shield on his back, and his hair was dirty blonde. His eyes were the most beautiful color of blue Zelda had ever seen.

One day he got very close to her, while she was still on her knees from the frightening part of her dream. He held his hand out to her, silently, and offered her a smile. Zelda smiled weakly back at him, and took his hand to pull herself up—

And she did not have the dream again.

* * *

"What do you think it means?" Zelda asked Impa several days later, as she was getting ready for bed. "It's been nearly a week and all my dreams have been normal. Did he just go away? I thought, you know, he would be able to help us..."

"I think it is his destiny," Impa said quietly. "Shekiah say that the Goddesses give each of us a task to accomplish in our lives, a destiny to fulfill. Some people do, some don't. Each of us has to make choices, and if they're the right ones, we will be blessed. I know your task is to protect Hyrule." She smiled. "And I know my task is to protect you, sweet. Maybe this boy's task is to help us. Maybe his task is to help you protect Hyrule, and defeat the evil. Who knows? But if your dreaming has come to an end, it must signify something. Perhaps it means the ordeal will be over if we accept his help." She sighed. "So far none of the guards I sent out have seen him...it could be that he's not from around here."

"Maybe," Zelda whispered. She laid down and let out a content sigh as Impa pulled the covers up to her chin, looking out the window at the clear night sky. "Impa...what do the Shekiah say about stars?"

Impa smiled and sat down on the bed. "Ahh, I see. After a story so you can stay up later, eh? Well! The stars. We say lots of things. When you die, the spirit journeys into the sky, and becomes a star, so one day you and I will be a part of that sky. It's why no one can count them all; the number always changes."

"Is my mother a star?" Zelda asked.

"Oh, yes. The stars that burn brightest, the ones we can see from here, are the people who did great things, and I'm sure your mother is the brightest one!" Impa kept going, watching Zelda closely as she fell asleep "Some of the bright stars connect, make pictures in the sky...there's the sacred relic, the Triforce, and the Shekian crest...and if you see a star coming back to earth, you can make a wish on it..."

Impa stopped when she saw Zelda had fallen asleep. She looked out the window, and could have sworn she thought she saw a shooting star. Hah! Well, if she was going to make a wish, she would wish for Zelda. _Give her a bright future. Don't let her be alone her whole life._

Ah, but wishes were useless, weren't they...? If only everyone came so easily as to just want it badly enough...Impa stroked Zelda's hair as she slept, hating the things Zelda had to endure. She was so lost in thought that it took her several moments to realize Zelda was twitching in her sleep.

* * *

She was having the dream again, wasn't she? But no, this was different; though Zelda was in Hyrule Field, she was right by the gate, and the clouds had already come. It was raining, but she wasn't getting wet.

Lightning flashed, and thunder rolled in the distance. Terrified, she looked up, waiting to see the terrible eyes glaring down at her, but she only saw the storm. When the lightning came again, the drawbridge was lowered, hitting the ground with a crash, and Zelda took two fearful steps backwards.

Suddenly the boy was in front of her.

Thunder rolled, and a white horse flew by. Zelda recognized it as her favorite mare from the stables and was shocked to see _herself_ and Impa on the horse's back, riding out of the markets as fast as they could go. Now that the drawbridge was open, Zelda could smell smoke, and fear gripped her heart. She watched as she threw _something_—something blue—into the moat behind her as she left, but she could not make out what it was.

"Hey," she whispered to the boy. She reached out to touch his shoulder, but her hand went straight through him. She could see his mouth was moving, was he talking to that ball of light? She couldn't hear him...

Lightning flashed again, and there was another horse on the drawbridge. Zelda gasped and took another step back when she saw those terrible red eyes, when she saw that Ganondorf was on that horse. No...! But—he wasn't looking at her. He was looking at the boy. They were talking, but she couldn't hear them, why couldn't she—?

_"I'm not afraid."_

Zelda stilled as she heard him whisper, the first and only words she had ever heard him speak. But he looked terrified, his sword and shield almost shaking in his hands. Still:

_"I am not afraid."_

Ganondorf held out a gloved hand, and a sickly shadow began to form in his palm. The boy braced himself as Ganondorf drew back his arm and threw the spell; he didn't even try to dodge.

Zelda saw him hit the ground, flat on his back, staring up into the rain, and she dropped to her knees beside him, her face over his. But he could not see her; he opened his mouth and _screamed_, and his scream became hers as she woke, fighting Impa off as if she were still in the dream. All she could do now was cry; that boy was their hope. What would happen if he died? What would they do without the light?

"Zelda? Zelda, what's wrong?"

But Zelda couldn't speak. She only leaned against Impa and sobbed, frightened out of her mind. It would be a long time before Impa could calm her down enough to get the details of this latest dream.

And little did Zelda know it, but somewhere out there, there was someone just like her: a boy dressed in green was having the same nightmare as she.


	36. Revised Chapter Two

**Author's Notes:** Chapter One was about as half as short as the original chapter, but this chapter is almost twice as long! There is pretty much _nothing_ of the original chapter in this draft, something I'm very proud of. The events changed a just little and I added more depth to Link's character; he's a little more timid now, from a lifetime of being bullied. I added in his version of the dream sequence (laying the groundwork for some ZeLink later...) and a little backstory for the woods themselves, moving in the very start of the next chapter to end this one to give it a more climactic feel. I changed Saria's fairy's name to "Spryte" from the sassy little fairy in the Zelda cartoons, since it seemed to fit the fantastical/forest setting more, but cartoon haters shouldn't worry. She's still just a cute little lightball.

I'm a little worried some of the sections near the ending and the dream sequence are a little stiff, as well as the part where Mido first shows up, but overall I'm very satisfied with this chapter. I feel like Link and Saria's relationship flows more smoothly now, and I've made Navi more of a believable character rather than just an annoying game mechanic (though few people will miss the reference to her famous line her the end of this chapter). I also hope I've created better visuals to work off of, even for those who haven't played the game in awhile, with light description and realistic body language. Definitely it's an improvement over the original Chapter Two, but it's not too hard to top that! I hope you enjoy it.

_The songs for this chapter are Immediate Music's Serenata (choir version, for the dream :P), and ZREO's Soundscape tracks "Kokiri Village" and "Sacred Grove".  
_

* * *

Chapter Two

He was having that dream again, wasn't he?

Yes, this was familiar, _too_ familiar. He was standing in the middle of a quiet place with no trees; places like these were called _fields_, and this one was more expansive than anything he could have imagined on his own. The sky was so huge, big enough to swallow him whole if he stared at it too long. There was a fairy in his dream, too, floating around lazily near his head, speaking in words he couldn't hear or understand. The only thing before him was a solid wall, with only one opening that was covered by a moving bridge. An odd triangle symbol he had never seen before was at the top of this wall, and a small stream blocked him from getting any closer.

The feeling of dread crept slowly into him; he knew what was coming next. It wasn't the sky or the stream he had to worry about. It was the storm.

The clouds came swiftly, and sometimes, like this time, he could have sworn that for a second he saw eyes behind them, glaring down at him with all the dark force and malintent he had ever known. That apparition faded quickly as the clouds opened up and it began to pour. He didn't ever get wet; he couldn't feel anything. Not yet. But he knew he would...

Lightning flashed once, twice, and the drawbridge crashed down before him like thunder. There was the first one, a white animal with two people on its back. He never could seem to focus on the woman, but the girl's face stood out clearly; she was terrified. She looked at him and mouthed his name, and threw _something_—something blue—into the small stream under the bridge. As he turned to follow its progress, lightning flashed again, and then there was another beast on the bridge. On its back was the man with the eyes, the man he was so afraid of.

And this evil man, he was talking, but he couldn't hear the words—

Every night he had this dream, and every night he tried to run away. Always it ended the same, but if he acted differently, could he change the ending? He reached for his sword and shield, both strapped to his back, not there when he was awake. If he had these things, did it mean he knew how to fight?

"I'm not afraid," he whispered to himself, or the fairy, or maybe to the man in front of him.

It was a lie. Even after he got his weapons out, he knew he was lying; they shook in his hands.

"I am not afraid." He said it again, more firmly, this time to the man before him, and he felt just a little of his fear vanish.

The man held his hand out, a shadow in his palm.

But he couldn't be frightened; no, he wouldn't move. After all, it was just a dream. It was just a dream! No matter what happened, he would wake up soon and everything would be fine, because he knew deep down that it was just a—

He was knocked breathless as the spell hit him, and he landed flat on his back in the rain. The fairy darted down to his side, and he waited, terrified, for the pain to begin. He couldn't change it. No matter what he did, he couldn't change it.

He saw the girl's face for only a moment, eyes wide and terrified, before the pain hit him.

Link screamed.

* * *

"No—!"

Link sat bolt upright in bed, eyes wide, panting as if he had just run a great distance. But no, he was here in his own room, his own bed. It really had been just a dream.

He shivered and drew his knees to his chest, hugging them for protection against the nightmare. The daylight coming in through the edges of his window soothed him, but the lingering sleepiness from many restless nights made him hurry out of bed, the fear he would fall back asleep and have to dream it all over again making him afraid to close his eyes.

He looked around his room, taking comfort in the smell of trees, of wet earth; it had rained last night. His little room was at the top of a gigantic tree stump, having been hollowed out through much hard work by children born many hundreds of years before him, when he had still been too small to carve it himself. There was a smaller stump in the middle of the room, and his bed lay at the top end, only a very few things packed neatly underneath it. He got out his day clothes first, and changed to feel a little cleaner; he'd have a proper bath in the woods later, to relax himself, if he didn't run into any trouble on the way out. He combed his hair before pulling his cap down snugly on his head, and, that finished, he peered outside to see if the coast was clear.

No such luck.

Link groaned and slipped back inside, drawing the curtain over his makeshift door. Mido was out there, talking to some of the other Kokiri. Link didn't want to go down the ladder now; he didn't want Mido to see him. Last night his friend Saria had yelled at Mido for being mean to Link, and he was sure Mido would look for his revenge in a time and place when Saria wasn't around. Instead of going down to find himself breakfast, Link took his time straightening up his room, putting things away and generally just attempting to kill time. He could use the secret tunnel to Saria's house, but he didn't know if she was awake yet, and he didn't want to bother her if she wasn't.

Lucky Saria, lucky _Mido_. They both had fairies of their own to wake up to each morning and to talk to before they went to sleep at night. Sometimes Link longed for a fairy for just that reason: company. Link had had a fairy in his dream, sure, but it didn't mean he had one _now_, this second. If he did, he wouldn't have to worry about going down the ladder and seeing Mido. If he had a fairy like all the other Kokiri, he wouldn't get picked on by Mido and his friends...and from the day he was old enough to realize he didn't have a fairy like everyone else, Link had hoped and wished for one every night before he went to sleep, silently asking the Great Deku Tree to bless him with a fairy partner of his own.

It didn't help matters any that Link wasn't "grown-up" yet. When Kokiri turned twelve for the first time, their bodies stopped growing and they lived forever; the stories of adults in the outside world held no meaning here. In reality, the children were so old that they didn't remember being born, or being small, but everyone assumed that they had all once been babies just like Link was when he first appeared in the Great Deku Tree's meadow. But Link had only been alive for ten years, or so Saria said, and he was smaller than the other children. He had been the first Kokiri to be added to their number in a long time, and he wasn't accepted well by people like Mido, who couldn't turn a blind eye to the fact that a fairy had never taken him as their charge.

Link could only assume it was the Great Deku Tree's will that it had never come about; a few times he had asked fairies living in the Lost Woods if they wanted to be his partner, and they had always told him that the Deku Tree simply wouldn't allow it. Why, Link didn't know, couldn't fathom. He was always picked on by Mido and plenty of the other Kokiri boys, and he either had to mostly spend time with girls—who found his company awkward—or stay lonely.

The only girl he really felt open around was Saria. She had raised Link from the time he appeared as a baby in the Deku Tree's meadow, and when he became old enough to mostly care for himself, she'd moved him into his own house and had become his best friend instead; they were as close as brother and sister. She had taught him to read and write better than most of the villagers in the forest, and she'd taken him into the Lost Woods almost every day since he was a baby. She still stood up for him against Mido when he was too timid to stand up for himself. Link loved Saria, because she was the only one who loved him.

But even though Saria protected Link when she was around, she couldn't protect him all the time, and she certainly couldn't give him a fairy. Link peered out the curtain again and winced; Mido was still there, and Saria wasn't. Oh, well. He wanted breakfast. Down the ladder he went.

And without a word, as soon as Link reached the bottom, Mido reached over and pushed him to the ground.

Mido and his friends cracked up when Link fell into the small puddle by his ladder, and Link stood up fast, not wanting to stay down there in the cold mud so early in the morning. "Wh-what was th-that for?" he asked angrily, stumbling over his words. He felt his face heating up already.

"_'Wh-wh-wh-what was th-that for!?'_" Mido said in falsetto, a high-pitched mockery of his target.

Link swallowed down the tight feeling in his throat, tried to ignore the burning in his eyes. He hadn't had enough sleep; why did he have to deal with this, too? "Sh..." His fists clenched, and he forced the words out clearly, despite the frantic racing of his heart, despite wanting to flee: "Shut up!"

It did him no good. "_'Sh-sh-shut up!'_" Mido mocked, grinning at one of his buddies. "Geez, guys, do you think having no fairy makes you slow? First he trips himself, and now he's talkin' funny!"

"I think he'd be a little funny even if he did have a fairy," the boy to Mido's right said.

"I think none of the fairies want him because he's so stupid!" Mido countered. "What do you think, Link? Just not enough in that noggin' of yours to justify a fairy wasting their time?" He reached out and roughly tapped Link's skull with his knuckles.

Link drew back sharply from the contact, even though it didn't really hurt, and opened his mouth to defend himself—he was _not_ stupid!—but no sound came out; he was so humiliated and frightened it was all he could do not to cry. "Y...y...you..."

"There he goes again," Mido said, snickering. "I wonder why I'm still surprised..."

"J-just...leave me alone!" Link tried to push past him to get back to the ladder, but he wound up in the mud again, this time face first. He got up at once, grabbing for the ladder again, but he felt more hands on him, trying to pull him back down. No, _please_, not again—

"_Hey!_"

Saria! Link looked back just to make sure, and yes, it was her. Knowing that, Link was able to scramble up to the safety and privacy of his room, where Saria and the others wouldn't see him crying as he changed clothes. He wished he wouldn't, but he went ahead and did since no one was watching. Ooh, Link hated Mido! Why did he have to make him feel like this? Why couldn't Mido just leave him alone...? Link hadn't done anything wrong to him, and he _wasn't_ stupid—if he wasn't so frightened of Mido, he probably wouldn't have stuttered at all. He never stuttered around Saria...

"If only I were braver," Link whispered, sitting down on his bed. He was still dirty, but at least he was dry and his clothes were clean. He sighed and pulled the blankets back over him, phantoms and dreams forgotten in the wake of pain that was much more real to him now. "Maybe then I would have a fairy..."

_If only I had a little courage..._

* * *

Saria watched Link scurry up the ladder with her jaw set, fists tightened in anger. None of Mido's friends were laughing now that she had found them, but it didn't help matters any; Link was already inside, probably crying. "Just what do you think you're doing?" Saria demanded.

Mido shrugged, looking off to the side. "We were just playing around, Saria..."

"Playing around?" Saria moved up to Mido and looked him right in the eyes; they were the same height. He looked away. "I believe he told you to leave him _alone_."

"Didn't hear him, I guess." Mido shrugged, tapping his foot. Saria knew he was a little intimidated (and mostly irritated), but honestly had no idea why he was being so _cruel_; she and Mido had been good friends before Link came around, and once Saria would have sworn he was the kindest boy she knew. Now...

"Well you'd _better_ listen closer next time," Saria said as she took a step back. "I am getting really tired of this, Mido. If I catch you bullying him again—so help me I don't care _what_ excuse you make up—"

"All right, all right, enough with the lecture!" Mido definitely seemed annoyed now; he stepped back too and folded his arms. "C'mon, guys, let's just go..."

"Not so fast—" Saria tugged him back before he could leave, pushing him down into the same puddle he had pushed Link into; he hit the ground with a satisfying gasp. "Fair's fair, right?"

"Saria!" Mido got to his feet, fuming; his friends were trying not to snicker.

"Sorry, I was just playing around," Saria said flippantly, taking a little too much joy in the look on his face. "Guess you'd better go get cleaned up, huh, Mido? You look really _stupid_ with dirt on your butt!"

"Fine." Mido glared at her. "But you can't watch out for that kid all the time, Saria. I'll be back." He stormed off, his two buddies hesitating before following after him. Saria sighed. He was right; they'd be back, and she knew it. She _couldn't_ keep a watch on Link all the time...

"Oh, Link," she murmured worriedly, looking up at his silent doorway. Was he all right? She made her way up the ladder and pushed the white curtain aside to let herself in. "Link?" she asked softly. He was lying on the bed, facing away from the door, covers pulled up to his chin. "Did you go back to sleep?"

"No." Link sat up, kicking the covers off him to put his feet over the edge of the bed. "I can't sleep," he confessed. "I keep having that dream about that man."

Saria paused, then went over to sit on the bed next to him. "Hey, it's okay. Dreams are just dreams; they go away when you wake up." She moved one hand up to stroke the damp hair out of Link's face. Times like these were when she felt more like Link's caretaker than his friend. In essence, she was both; their relationship had changed as Link got older, but she would always look out for him, no matter how old they got—even if Link _never_ received a fairy of his own. "Maybe tonight you can stay over at my house again. It might help."

"I dunno." Link looked down, and Saria could tell he was embarrassed. "Um...there was a girl, this time...in my dream..."

Saria felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth. "Was she pretty?"

"What?" Link looked up at her, clearly alarmed, and she saw his cheeks turn color. "No! I mean—yeah, I guess she was pretty, but—I wasn't dreaming _about_ her being pretty. She was just...there!"

"Being pretty," Saria quipped, grinning, and she reached up to gently tug at one of Link's ears before putting that arm around his shoulders. "Relax! I'm only kidding. Do you want to go to the woods to get cleaned up? We can see if we can find some stuff for breakfast."

Link perked right up at that. "Yeah! Can we use the passage, though?" he asked, wary. "I don't want to go through the village..."

Saria's smile dropped, and she took her arm away from his shoulders. He was afraid to walk through his own village... "Sure. Come on." She slid off the bed and pulled a little on the stump-table in the middle of Link's room; it opened to reveal a ladder going down inside the base of the stump. Link had a basement down there full of odds and ends; it was why his house above was so neat and tidy. He had liked, from a young age, to keep everything down here, away from Mido and his friends. It was his secret route to any place in Kokiri Village, including Saria's house. Even after he'd moved into his own house, Saria had often been woken by him coming back to his old bed in her home in the middle of the night after bad dreams, needing the comfort of that bed and house to feel safe. This happened less and less as he got older, but Saria knew better than to think it was because the nightmares had stopped; Link was simply too timid to wake her if she was asleep. But these latest dreams had her especially worried. They were nothing like Link's norm...

* * *

Saria led Link through the passageway to her house, shutting her wooden stove behind them as they came out of the tunnel. After glancing out the window to check for people outside and waking her fairy, Spryte, the two children went out her back door up the steep slopes that led up to the Lost Woods. The slopes overlooked the village, and up there, Link felt totally safe; everyone else was too afraid of the Lost Woods to get so close without Saria as their guide.

"It's so small from up here," Saria said quietly, stopping to take in the view of the village. There had been one rickety, unsteady fence built here to try and stop children from going too close to the ledge and falling off, and she leaned against it now to look down, totally unafraid.

"Especially compared to the woods," Link agreed. He hung back from the fence as he always did, afraid it would break and he would fall, even though it wasn't such a long or dangerous distance down. He looked beyond the tops of the trees here to the top of the biggest, tallest tree in the forest—their guardian spirit, the Great Deku Tree. "But he's the biggest thing here."

Saria followed his gaze. "Yeah."

"Have you ever talked to him? I mean, besides the time when he gave me to you?"

"I _think_ so," Saria said, frowning. "It's hard to remember that far back. It was probably at least a hundred years ago. I think I remember a time when anyone was allowed to go and see him, not just fairies." She glanced up at Spryte. "You're lucky, you know."

"I don't make the rules; I just follow them," Spryte insisted. "I remember that time. Back then, you children didn't look quite the way you do now, I'm sure. But I don't remember what you looked like."

"Was that back when the village was a forest?" Link asked, looking down at the severed tree trunks that he and his people lived in. The air there looked thicker from where they were, and fireflies skipped to and fro; they came out even during the daytime, because the layers and layers of tree branches blotted out the sun. From here, their glow looked a lot like fairylight.

"Yes!" Saria said. "Then..." She frowned, a breeze blowing some of her green hair away from her face. "Then something happened, and the trees all died

"A plague," Spryte said sadly. "Or maybe a war. Maybe both, I don't remember. We lost a few Kokiri, too, and their fairies just withered away without them. It was awful."

"Yes, a plague killed some of the trees..." Saria said slowly. "The _war_ killed the Kokiri. Adults in the forest, I think...we had to find a new hiding place..." Saria's tone was distant. "So we hollowed out the trunks for houses and used the wood to build things...we dragged some of the trunks into the Lost Woods to help us navigate...ohh, I can't remember. My diaries only go back so far." Saria kicked the fence dejectedly. "I wish I knew where we lived before we made the houses, but I guess only the Great Deku Tree knows now." She threw a stern look in Link's direction. "I hope you're keeping up with your journal, Link."

"I am." Since he had been old enough to write, Saria had made sure he wrote daily in a journal, so that he would be able to remember the things that happened to him after he became very old like the rest of the Kokiri and forgot his past. Before he was old enough to write, she had kept one for him, along with her own diaries that she had been writing in for nearly a hundred years now. "Nothing to write about, though. 'Mido's a jerk, still no fairy, what else is new?' I don't see the point sometimes. I don't want to remember stuff like this..."

"You will later!" Saria said. "When you stop growing and a lot of time passes, you'll forget things because it's been so long. And then you'll wish you could remember them! I sure do."

"I still don't think there's a point," Link mumbled. "Things have always been this way, so it only makes sense they won't change..."

"Only in the forest!" Spryte said. "You children may live forever, but there's a whole world outside these woods, always changing...and in that world, people die when they're not even a hundred years old!

Link folded his arms to his chest. "Sounds scary. The 'world', I mean. I don't want to die."

"The world isn't scary," Spryte said. "My friends from the mountains come through here a lot and tell me about it! It sounds like good fun. They say there aren't as many trees, though. There's just a big wide open green space called a—"

"Field," Link mumbled. "I know. You've told us the stories before, Spryte. Well—I don't care. I don't care about anything outside the forest. I never want to leave or see any of the rest of it."

Saria turned to Link, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, don't worry. Just because you dream about fields, it doesn't mean anything. Calm down." She smiled a little and tugged affectionately on one ear. "You haven't even had breakfast yet," she excused him. "No wonder you're so grouchy. Come on, let's go find something to eat."

* * *

Navi the fairy watched Saria and Link vanish into the Lost Woods. She hurried to keep up; she couldn't navigate the fearsome forests the way those two children could, and if she wasn't careful, she'd be left behind. She ducked under the small waterfall coming off of the slopes to cool herself off and then headed up into the giant empty log that went into the Lost Woods.

Before Link had come along, Navi rarely ventured here. It was said that anyone who became lost here would turn into one of the monsters that haunted the woods here—or get eaten by them. But Saria had been taking Link every day since he was very young, and she had been going for as long as Navi could remember. The woods were alive with fireflies, glowing with the same light that was in the village, but Navi had to make an extra effort to keep herself dim so as not to stand out; the woods were always dark, too, and her light was easily distinguishable from theirs. She watched after Link as he and Saria collected things for breakfast, pausing to perch on a high-up tree branch when they stopped at a small pond.

Navi was jealous of Saria's fairy Spryte; she got to tag along everywhere, do everything the children did. Oh, how Navi longed to be down there with them...! More specifically, she longed to be with _Link_; it had been ten long years since she had been bound magically to him as his charge, and for every moment he longed for a fairy of his own, she mirrored it with the same ache to be looking out for him, caring for him the way she felt only a fairy partner could. But she had been given her orders from the Great Deku Tree; she had to stay away. This boy wasn't like all the _other_ children in the forest, and despite the magical bond they shared that made them ache with loneliness, Link and Navi weren't meant to be together yet. Why, she didn't know. She didn't question the Great Deku Tree. He had been very kind to her, to accept her back in the forest after she had run away, and to allow her to be Link's guardian fairy, even if from a distance. She wouldn't test his patience.

"...take your time. I'll be back later!"

"Okay."

Navi snapped to attention; the two children were parting ways so Link could get cleaned up. _Poor thing_, she thought, as she watched him strip and look at his skinned hands. A quick healing spell would fix that, but she just wasn't allowed...

To give him privacy, she turned her eyes away while he finished undressing and moved to the pond. After she heard a splash, she looked back at him, bathing alone and humming a tune to himself. She wished she could go down, but no...she wasn't allowed to be the one to care for Link. She had spent the last ten years watching Saria tend his skinned knees, comfort him after his nightmares, and stand up to his bullies. Navi had longed to be the one doing that, and even if part of it was the bond's magic, she honestly loved Link, wanted the best for him. And he didn't even know she existed...

Navi sighed, depressed. It was nearly time to contact the Great Deku Tree. She had been ordered to every day ask him if it was _time_ yet...and of course every day he told her no, which was both a disappointment and a relief. Still, she looked forward to the question each day, as if there was hope that one day soon he would tell her...

_Navi, it's time._

Navi shrieked and fell off her perch, catching herself in mid-air and diving behind the tree to avoid being seen. She paused a moment to slow her racing heart, peering around the edge of the tree. Link was still bathing; he hadn't noticed her. Thank goodness...geez, for a second there, she'd imagined that the Great Deku Tree had been talking to her.

_Navi..._

Navi gasped, tiny hands flying to her mouth. That was really him! _Yes, Great Deku Tree?_

_Navi the fairy, it is time. Where is Link?_

Navi's eyes widened, and she sank slowly down to the grass, wings twitching once before they stilled. Her light dimmed a little. _He's right here, in the Lost Woods._

_Navi, we have need of him. Please bring him to me at once. The King of Evil has found me at last, and I have been cursed. My life cycle is about to restart, and I need both of you. Link must get the Kokiri's Emerald before the King of Evil does; if he fails, all is lost, both here and in the outside world. Navi, my time is so short...the task of telling him his true identity may well fall to you._

_Oh! I don't know if I can, Great Deku Tree...I'm only a fairy, I..._

_You are an extraordinary fairy, Navi_, the Deku Tree replied. _You saved Link from a terrible fate once. I will place my faith in you to carry on where I cannot...now fly, Navi, fly! The fate of the forest—no, the whole world—rests on both your shoulders._

_I'll be there as soon as I can, Great Deku Tree!_ Navi straightened up and got to her feet; as her wings started fluttering, her light came back full-force.

Navi the fairy had been ordered to ask every day, _Is it time yet?_ And every day, the Great Deku Tree would tell her, _No, wait a little longer._ Each day the answer was both a disappointment...and a relief. Because Navi had always known that the day the Great Deku Tree told her it was time, she and Link could finally be together...but for the Deku Tree, the guardian spirit of the forests, it was the end.

She tried not to despair. The Great Deku Tree could never truly _die_, after all; when he did, a new sprout was planted in his meadow, eventually becoming the same wise old tree that the Kokiri loved. But every time he was reborn, tragedy struck the forest while he was still too young to guard against it. And there would be another hundred years before he was fully grown and the children of the forest were allowed to see him again. He had been on his ninety-ninth year this time...but he wouldn't reach full growth. Not if the King of Evil had already found him and cursed him.

Navi had seen the King of Evil only once before, in her first and only trip to the outside world. The memory of him was terrifying enough to make her not to ever want to leave the forest again. And she had watched as Link described those nightmares about him...

But she couldn't be afraid. It was time, finally. It was time to finish what she had started ten years ago. It was time to tell Link that he wasn't alone.

* * *

Link was still in the pond washing his hair out when a fairy came up to him.

"H-hello," it said timidly, landing on the ground near the water. Its light dimmed when it stopped flying, and Link could make out that the fairy was female.

"Hi," he said back, smiling a little. He was a little embarrassed to be caught without any clothes on, but since his lower half was under the water and it was mostly dark, he didn't complain. The fairies in the Lost Woods usually didn't talk to him much, and despite not having a fairy of his own, he was always happy to talk to any fairy who spoke to him first. This fairy especially; something about just looking at her, hearing her, seemed to soothe the loneliness Link felt without a fairy partner to call his own. "I'm Link. Who're you?"

The fairy took a deep breath. "My name's Navi," she said, and here did a tiny little curtsy. "I-I was sent by the Great Deku Tree to find you and bring you back to him..."

Link paused. The Deku Tree...? Then...this couldn't be...

"I've been assigned to be your guardian fairy!" Navi said, and took to the air, glowing brighter now that she was flying. "I've been your fairy since you were a _baby_," she gushed. "And I've been looking out for you this whole time, and—and—" She dissolved into tears. "Oh, I waited so long to be your fairy! So long! Your whole life! And now here we are." She sniffled and swooped down to pick up a stray leaf off the ground to blow her nose with. "Oh!" she said. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to get like that so suddenly. Do you like me?" she asked anxiously.

"I'm dreaming," came the stunned reply. "Of course I _like_ you, are you serious—?" Link was grinning now. "You're really gonna be my fairy partner?"

"I really am!" Navi agreed. "Forever, Link, truly. I'm sorry I haven't been with you the last ten years, but from now on, no matter what, we'll be partners! I promise!"

"Wow," Link laughed, wiping at his eyes; he was the one in tears now. "I'm so happy I—I don't know what I'll do. I waited my whole life for you! I'm so glad you're here. Oh, oh, I'm gonna tell Saria, right now, and Spryte, and—and _Mido_, and I'm...I'm..."

"Not wearing anything," Navi supplied delicately. "You have to get dressed before we can go anywhere."

"Oh!" Link looked startled for a moment, and then he asked shyly, "Do you think you could turn around for a minute...?"

Navi did as he asked, listening to him slosh up out of the pond and talk as he got dressed. She was hiding a grin at Link's excitement; he was normally such a quiet kid, but now he wouldn't stop talking.

"...will _never_ believe it. You know, I've never heard of a boy having a girl fairy before, or the other way around. Do you think we're a special case?"

"Uh-huh," Navi said. "Are you done getting dressed?"

"Yeah!" Link pulled his boots on and got to his feet, brushing his legs off. When he was standing, he dug in his pockets for his Fairy Ocarina, a gift to him from Saria many years ago. He played a few notes on it, that came to him almost by heart. Because of all the fallen, hollow logs, the song bounced around the forest; Navi heard it echo several times.

"I'm calling Saria," Link explained. "She'll hear me and answer back." He listened hard, and sure enough, the notes echoed back to him a few moments later, this time from her ocarina.

"I've seen you do that before," Navi admitted. "I watched you both practice the trick when you were still small. I always wondered how you could navigate this place so well," she added admiringly.

"Saria's the best teacher in the world!" Link tipped his head to the side and listened closely as the notes echoed back to him, a little louder than before. It was a request from Saria to play again, to let her know where he was. Link started walking in her direction—how he knew which way was which, Navi had no clue—and played again as he walked. After his own notes finished bouncing around the forest, he heard the reply. She was close, now, close enough for him to call out to her. "Saria? Spryte?"

"Over here!" Saria called back, and soon enough he could see her coming from the mist just ahead of him. "You sure got finished fast," she noted. "Look, I got all these berries for breakfast, we can...make..." Saria looked up curiously at the little fairy sitting on link's shoulder. "Link?" she asked, hardly daring to believe it.

"Oh, it's Navi!" Spryte was the first to realize what had happened. "Here at last! It's so good to see you again!"

"Hello, Spryte," Navi said warmly, from Link's shoulder. "And it's nice to meet you face-to-face, Saria. I'm Navi, Link's guardian fairy."

"No _way_," Saria gasped, hands covering her mouth. "Oh, wow, really? After all this time?"

"Truly!" Spryte said. "Navi's been waiting on the Great Deku Tree to give her permission for _years_. She was the fairy who first called Saria to the meadow to get Link, when he was just a little baby."

"Really?" Link asked Navi, surprised. "Why didn't you stay with me?"

"Deku Tree's orders," Spryte said sagely. "And we never question the Great Deku Tree."

Navi let out her breath in a huff. "Speaking of that," she began.

"Oh, Link, you've _got_ to go show Mido!" Saria said. "He won't believe it."

Link grinned. "I know!"

"Link—" Navi began again, and reached up to tug a long lock of Link's hair. "Hey! Listen! Don't forget! You've been summoned! The Great Deku Tree needs to see you right away."

"Right!" Link said, eyes wide. "I _did_ forget. Do you know why?"

"I think it would be better if he just told you," Navi said awkwardly. "It's...complicated."

"Let's go, then!" Link held his hand out, and grinned proudly when Navi obligingly landed on his palm. From there she flitted up to his hat, holding onto that while he got started on the walk back to the edge of the woods. Once they were out of the thickest forests, it was only one short but unsteady walk down the steep slopes before they got to the village, both children laughing and chattering all the way.

"Hey, Link," Saria said, hopping from one of the lower little cliffs to the ground next to the back door of her house. She took two steps away from him, towards the Great Deku Tree's meadow. She grinned, biting her lip in anticipation. "Race you!" She began running towards the entrance of the meadow.

"Wha—?" But Saria was already gone. "Hey!" Link yelled, hands cupped around his mouth, watching her go. "No fair! Cheater!" He started laughing, too, and ran after her. "Come on, Navi!"

"Children!" sighed Spryte, having stayed where she was when Saria ran off. "Aren't you glad to finally have one of your own, Navi?"

"I am!" Navi flew around in a quick circle, then hastened to go after Link.

She arrived at the entrance to the meadow just in time to see Link run headlong into Mido.


	37. Revised Chapter Three

**Author's Notes:** I had quite a few things delaying me from finishing this chapter. Aside from the starting chapters being tougher to get through (haven't we all done the Deku Tree a thousand times?) I also had complications in my personal life, a vacation, and a very persistent headcold that seemed to want to stop me from writing anything.

That being said, I'm glad I finally got this chapter out of the way. I hope I managed to make sword-and-shield more interesting than it was in the game. I certainly feel like I made the chapter itself more interesting.

Thanks as always go to the completely awesome **Neo Diji** for beta-reading this chapter.

_The songs for this chapter are the ZREO's "Lost Woods", forgetreality's "Lost Woods by Night", Lost Woods played backwards and Lost Woods slowed way down (both of those are on YouTube). Sorry there's no variation this time...  
_

* * *

Chapter Three

Mido could remember very clearly the day he stopped being friends with Saria and started hating Link.

Link was a small child, then, unafraid of the bigger children because Saria had babied him his entire life. It was a warm day and he and Saria had come to the pond while Mido was sitting on the bank with Mallebron in silence.

"Mido, let's swim!" Link insisted, tugging on Mido's hand. He was barely old enough to string together sentences, and Mido knew Saria—only a short distance away, sticking her feet in the pond and writing in her diary—was impressed. Mido didn't care, though; he wanted nothing to do with the freaky little no-fairy kid.

"No," he growled, jerking away.

"Please?" Link asked, and reached up to touch Mido's hand again. "Look, water!" He pulled Mido the few steps over to the pond's edge. "Let's swim!"

"If you want to swim, fine," Mido snapped. "But stay away from me!" He jerked his hand away again, and little Link lost his balance and tipped over the edge into the water.

And that was it; that had been the end of his friendship with Saria. The little brat had told her Mido pushed him or something, and she hadn't forgiven him for it, even when he'd tried to explain that he _hadn't_ pushed Link, that it was Link's fault for being so insistent and clumsy. Of course her darling, snotty little Link could do no wrong...

So he'd turned to other friends instead, and, to get revenge against Link, he had made sure everyone in the forest knew the reason Link didn't have a fairy was because he was _weird_. He was smaller, he was slower, and he was weaker. He didn't like heights and, after the incident with Mido, refused to go any deeper in a pond than his waist. Somehow, Mido and his new buddies got into the habit of teasing Link whenever they saw him, a thing that drove Mido and Saria even further apart. She just couldn't see that stupid _Link_ was to blame for the whole thing. That brat deserved every bit of what he was getting. Mido had never _liked_ Link, not really, but he and Saria had been friends once and now they weren't, and that was Link's fault, and Mido had _hated_ him ever since then.

This particular morning, Mido had been waiting at Link's door because of Saria yelling at him last night, in front of half the village, for picking on Link. His plan had backfired; instead of getting revenge for his humiliation, Mido was only humiliated again when Saria pushed him into the mud the same way he'd pushed Link. Well, of course. Of course she'd do that! Once Link had come along, she had totally changed. She wasn't even the same person anymore!

Fortunately, Mido had long ago added a tub to his own home, and tended to refill it _after_ his baths so he wouldn't have to carry water while he was dirty. It was a lucky thing, too; he looked terrible, and all he wanted to do was get clean so no one would find out. His hopes were in vain, of course; everyone knew everything that went on in the little village, no matter how small.

He had taken so long to clean up that he'd gotten into a very depressed state. Mallebron had tried to cheer him up, but Mido was in no mood to be cheery, and after awhile, Mallebron gave up on it.

"Now where are you going?" the fairy asked glumly, as Mido exited his house. "To get breakfast...?"

"No." Mido folded his arms. "I'm going to see the Deku Tree and ask him about Link and Saria."

"What?" Mallebron asked, aghast. "No, no, Mido. You're not allowed. The Deku Tree hasn't reached his hundredth year of regrowth yet. Only fairies can see him now!"

"I don't care!" Mido shouted; luckily, there was no one outside. His face was red with anger, his fists clenched. "I don't care," he said, quieter. "I hate them, I _hate_ them, why don't they just—"

Mido was cut off when someone ran straight into him, knocking both of them to the ground.

"Ow!"

"Sorry, sorry—"

The kid skittered back from the collision, and Mido bit back a snarl of frustration. Link! Was there no escaping him?

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Mido demanded. "Running into me like that! Can you not see right or something? Just another reason you've got no fairy," he sneered, attacking Link's weak point.

"Sh-shut up," Link said, a perfect replay of earlier that morning. He scrambled to his feet, taking a step back and looking pleadingly at Saria. It made Mido's stomach turn. This kid was _pathetic_.

"Mido," Saria said, "honestly, will you lay off? We were just—"

"Maybe when he learns to talk for himself," Mido said, hands on his hips. "He's nothing but your shadow, Saria. He doesn't even have a fairy."

"Oh yes he does!"

Mido jerked his head up to find the location of the shrill voice that most definitely belonged to a fairy. He saw her hovering near Link's head, blue light burning bright. "You're joking," he said flatly. This couldn't be Link's _fairy_...not after everything else. Mido's jaw clenched. "He _can't_ have a fairy. He's _wrong_, he's not like us! This has to be a joke!"

"I'm not joking!" the little fairy said hotly. "I'm his guardian fairy. I've been his guardian fairy since the day Saria came to the meadow to get him! So you can just go right back where you came from, Mido, because I'm Link's fairy and I always will be. Now if you'll _excuse_ us," the fairy said, moving down to yank one of Mido's ears rather painfully, "Link's been summoned to see the Great Deku Tree, so you'll have to be getting out of our way."

Mido felt hot rage seize him. Link was _beaming_. He looked so smug, so proud of having everything handed to him so easily...! Mido opened his mouth to speak, but—

"Navi." Mallebron left his usual perch on Mido's shoulder to fly up to the fairy—Navi, Mido assumed. "Surely you don't mean to yell at this child when he's not your charge?"

"I-I'm sorry," Navi stammered. "But you should ask Mido not to treat Link the way he does. I was out of line, I know, I should have come to you. But it's not _fair_." Normally, fairies made it a point not to get involved with disputes between the Kokiri; it was why all the fairies could remain friends regardless of what happened with their charges, and the Deku Tree had expressed that that bond was very important.

"Well, I'm _not_ moving," Mido said stubbornly. "Mallebron, don't make me move. It can't be true. Why would _he_ get summoned to see the Deku Tree?"

"I don't know," Mallebron said levelly.

"The Great Deku Tree needs his courage," Navi said briskly. "So let us by, now, please!"

Mido's eyes flew to Link. Link looked surprised, like he hadn't expected to hear it either. "His courage?" Mido asked softly. "I think you've got the wrong kid. Link has no courage. He's the biggest coward I've ever met! And I won't let him by unless he _makes_ me."

"Mido—" Saria started.

"Not you!" Mido snarled. "Not you, or Mallebron, or even the Great Deku Tree himself! Link has to do it. He has to _make_ me move. And I know you can't," Mido added smugly to Link, raising his chin a little. "You can't even get two words out without choking on them, you're so stupid and little and scared. What could you _ever_ do to me?"

* * *

Nothing, apparently. Five minutes later found Saria, Spryte, Navi, and an inconsolable Link sitting on his front porch.

"H-he's right, you know," Link said, wiping his eyes. He'd marched right up to Mido when the conditions for his passage were set, and he'd asked Mido to move, _demanded_ he move, despite all his stuttering, but Mido hadn't budged. Eventually, Link had given up and run home, too ashamed to stay.

"It's okay, Link," Saria said, arm tight around his shoulders. "He'll get bored and go home in a little while. He can't stay there _forever_."

"That's not the point!" Link said. "He's right about me being a c-coward." Link sniffled and wiped at his eyes again, drying them up as best as he could. "I can't stand him, I can't stand him! Why does he have to be so _mean_?"

"He's got a point," Spryte said, after a short silence.

"Spryte!" Saria scolded. "What a terrible thing to say!"

"It's true!" Spryte said. "Not about Link being a coward, but—I certainly think he ought to make Mido move. Link, I've known you since the day Saria was called to the meadow to fetch you, and I've never once seen you stick up for yourself. Saria, you coddle him."

Link looked away, embarrassed because it was true. She did, and he let her, because he wasn't brave enough to do things on his own.

"And now he needs to see the Deku Tree—and I do think it's urgent!—and he can't get by because he doesn't know how to walk on his own two feet." Spryte settled on Link's knee, laying a tiny hand on it to comfort him. "I know it's not the ideal situation, but you have to do what you have to do. And that's all I'll say on the matter. I keep forgetting you have a fairy of your own now!" She moved away, flitting to rest on Saria's shoulder.

"I don't know what I can do," Link said quietly. He sighed, looking over at the porch rail where Navi sat. "You're my fairy now. Do you still want to be...?"

"Of course I do!" Navi said fiercely. "And I think Spryte's got a good point. We're _going_ to make Mido move—together," Navi said. "And I know how to do it. Are you with me, Link?"

"Really?" Link breathed. "Oh Navi, yes! Of course I am! What do I do?"

"Follow me," Navi said. "Saria, would you mind going down to the village house and picking up a few things?" The house was the only red-rimmed one in the village, a kind of storage space for all kinds of toys and playthings the children had collected over the years.

Saria blinked. "Not at all. What do you need?"

"One of everything," Navi said grimly. "C'mon, Link."

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

* * *

As they made their way to destinations unknown, Navi told her new charge a story.

"A long time ago, before you and I were born, the Great Deku Tree was alone in this forest. And so he gave life to the spirits living here and turned them into children, into fairies and skullkids and even wolfos. But the Great Deku Tree isn't all-powerful. He controls the forest, but he can't control anything in the world outside. Sometimes evil comes to the forest...

"The last time it happened—or so I hear, I wasn't born back then—a plague came through the forest and killed a lot of the trees...it even killed a few Kokiri. It killed the Great Deku Tree, too, and when he dies, it takes him a hundred _years_ to go from a tiny little seed back to his original form...and that was ninety-nine years ago. When he was just a little sprout, he gave orders to the fairies not to let anyone see him until he had turned a hundred again! And he said if anything should ever happen, fairies should lead their charges to something that he sealed away after the plague came through.

"It's right here in the village, behind the waterfall coming out of the cliffs. It's set up so that only a Kokiri and their fairy can get in together. The Great Deku Tree warned me a long time ago I might have to show you this; he sees things coming, and he _knows_ things...you know? I'm not exactly sure what he needs you for yet, but it can't hurt to have this with us. I think...no. I _know_ that evil is coming again."

_Evil...?_ Link barely grasped the concept of the word, but it sounded terrifying. Nonetheless, if the Great Deku Tree needed his help, he had to try, right?

Link stood on the stepping stones in the pond next to the village house, Navi sitting on his shoulder. Link could see Saria inside, and he was tempted to wave, but she was facing away from him, so he didn't.

"So all I have to do is jump back there?"

"No. We both have to go. If you jumped alone you'd never make it."

Link smiled a little and stretched his hand out. "Ready?

"Ready!" Navi said, flitting to his hand and hanging on tight to his finger. Link jumped—

They didn't get wet. They didn't even really land. Link seemed to suddenly lose all weight, and he simply floated to the ground, feet making no noise as they touched the grass. Around him were the faint silhouettes of trees, taller than most in the Lost Woods, and, closer to the ground, a fog so thick Link could barely see past the end of his nose. There wasn't a sound; not birds singing, not crickets chirping...nothing.

"Where are we?" Link whispered.

"The Deku Tree calls it the other realm," Navi murmured. "He says there's another world just like this one, where everything's the same and everything's different. I don't really understand." Navi's fairy light burned away some of the fog around them, and she beat her little wings hard to keep the light bright enough for Link to see. "Careful now, there're holes everywhere, and this place is a maze. That's why you need me."

Carefully, Link took one step forward, then two. He felt for sturdy ground with his feet before moving forward, and when he hit a wall, he drew a map in his head to figure out where he was and where he had been. He'd been in mazes before, in the Lost Woods, and this one wasn't very difficult for him to get around in.

"What stopped anybody from just walking in here and getting it?" Link asked, after awhile. He paused, hesitating, and took a right turn. Left would just lead him back to where he had been... "I mean, Mido has a fairy. He could have gotten in here..."

"Not Mido," Navi said solemnly. "He's poisoned poor Mallebron."

"Poisoned?" Link asked, looking up at Navi. His brow knitted into a frown. "What do you mean?"

"Fairies and their charges have a special...well, a link," Navi said, smiling a little at her word choice. "When you feel sad, I feel sad. When I feel sad, you feel sad. We can hear each other thinking, we can see each other feeling."

"I can't hear you thinking," Link said warily.

"Well, no," Navi admitted. "But I can hear you, sort of. The thing is, the longer we're together, the stronger our bond becomes. Mido is older than both of us, by hundred and hundreds of years...and Mallebron's been with him all that time, so whatever Mido thinks and feels, Mallebron gets the same. Mido's full of all that...hatred, I suppose," Navi said quietly. "And so Mallebron is, too. He's all quiet...you can just tell."

"That's sad," Link noted. "I guess he hates me that much. You know, 'cause of not having a fairy."

"Well, you have one now!" Navi said fiercely, beating her wings harder. "I know I'm a little late. Can you forgive me?"

"Of course!" Link said earnestly, looking up at her, how bright she'd gotten. "I just don't understand why you waited."

Navi dimmed a little. "I don't really completely understand why the Great Deku Tree asked me to wait either," she admitted quietly. "But you're not like...the rest of the villagers, Link. You're going to be different."

"I knew _that_ already," Link laughed. "After all, I didn't have a fairy for so long, and my fairy's a different gender than me...but that's okay. I think you're perfect."

Navi beamed. "I think you're perfect, too. Oh!" She stopped suddenly. "I think this is it. Forward," she directed.

In a moment, through the fog, they saw a stone on the ground, something large, flat, and round—not totally natural. Lying on top of it was something Link had never seen when he was awake before: a sword. He had played with wooden ones when he was younger, but this was different, its hilt made of some kind of metal with a small green jewel in it. The blade was covered with an old leather sheath that looked as though it really could have been a hundred years old. Vines crept over it, having grown in ages and ages ago. Link felt a chill of foreboding; he _recognized_ it. It was the same one in his dream.

"I'm supposed to take this?" Link asked warily. "I don't know how to use one of these."

"The Great Deku Tree wants you to have it, I think," Navi answered, worrying at her lip.

"Well," Link began slowly, and paused. He lapsed into silence, thinking. It wasn't like he could refuse to take it, no matter what kinds of dreams he was having... "Okay." He reached down to tug at the hilt of the sword; he had to work at it a moment before it pulled free from the growth around it. "It's kind of heavy," he said, surprised. It hadn't been, when he was dreaming about it. He slipped the sword on his back, twisting around to get the angle right, and clumsily reached up with his right hand to pull it out. The blade was made of metal, too, and he could see a faint reflection of his face on the surface.

"We'd better get going," Navi said, taking a nervous glance around at the treetops. The absolute silence was starting to unnerve her; even in the quietest parts of the Lost Woods, wind ran through the tree leaves. There was nothing like that here.

"Yeah," Link agreed, and seemed to suddenly _know_: this place spooked Navi. Maybe it had been her tone of voice that tipped him off, he wasn't sure. "This place creeps me out, too," he said, offering her a smile. "It's too—"

"—quiet," Navi finished, smiling weakly in return.

Link reached up over his shoulder to put the sword back in its sheath, but he couldn't get the angle right; he tried to twist around to see and even then nearly wound up losing an ear trying to get the sword back in. "Ugh. I don't think I'm very good at this. I can't get it!" he added, frustrated. "It's really heavy."

"You'll get used to it," Navi soothed.

All the same, she couldn't help but feel as if something about the sword was _off_...

* * *

Link stumbled into the little red-rimmed building, somewhat out of breath. The sword was much heavier than anything he usually carried, and wearing it on his back made him tired. "Saria?" he called. It was so quiet in here...sunlight poured through the open windows; Link could see dust floating in the air. Shelves that came up to his shoulder and cabinets that went up a little higher were packed in the one room of the place; a walk-in closet was over to the left with piled-up boxes stacked inside and around the doorway. Link stepped over one to try to get inside and fell over backwards from overbalancing himself.

"Ouch!" He collided painfully with the floor, taking another box down with him.

"Are you all right?" Saria called. "That didn't sound good..."

"I-I'm okay." Link staggered to his feet and shook off some of the junk that had landed on him. "Where are you?"

"Behind the big shelf," Spryte called for her charge. "There's a lot of stuff in here!"

"I didn't think I could bring one of everything out to you," Saria called to Navi, apologetically.

"That's okay," Navi assured her. "We don't really need a lot of this, anyway. Did you find anything in the line of...weapons?"

"Weapons?" Saria repeated. Her head poked out from the shelf at the far end of the room. "Well, I found a slingshot. Does that count?" She glanced back behind the shelf. "Oh! Swords and shields. The slingshot's on the windowsill."

"I don't need a sword," Link said proudly, spinning around so Saria could see he stumbled a little and caught himself on a nearby shelf. "Navi took me to get a real one. Made of metal and everything."

"Wow, really?" Saria's eyes were round. "I can't believe it. Here—"

She dove back behind the shelf. There was a clatter of things falling and a yelp, and she came back out with one of the wooden shields on hand. It had a red symbol on it to make it look less plain, but it was at least made of something easier to carry than metal.

"Put it on," Saria urged Link. "I want to see."

Link hesitated, eyes resting on the red symbol on the back of the shield. "I don't know..."

"Oh, come on! It'll look great." Saria grinned. "Mido will be so jealous."

_No_, Link thought, frightened. He opened his mouth, ready to tell Saria why, but—it didn't come, and he swallowed down his worry and held his hands out for it. Then Link slipped his left arm inside the loops on the back of the shield, and reached back with his right hand for his sword. "I'm a little new at this," he explained sheepishly, when the sword fell out of his hand. "Bending my arm like that kind of hurts." He picked up the sword and brandished it at Saria.

"You look so much older," Saria said admiringly, giggling a little at Link's awkward use of the sword. "Don't stab me!"

"He looks like a warrior is what he looks like!" Spryte said. "My goodness, Link, you clean up nicely. Put that thing away and let's go see Mido."

"I can't," Link said, grimacing. He twisted around, trying to get the sword back in its scabbard without breaking his arm. "It's really heavy, it feels so weird."

"Hmm." Navi landed on the windowsill nearby, studying Link as he struggled with his new things. She propped her elbow on the slingshot as she thought. It was true; Link did look like a warrior. Navi had really only seen one warrior on her single trip outside of the forest, and Link was a spitting image of him, standing in a position like that. Still, something was _wrong_; she certainly understood what Link meant about it being weird. "Link, what hand do you write with?"

"Umm...well, Saria told me I was supposed to write with my right one," Link said, holding it up.

"But one time Mido smashed it," Saria said sullenly. "So he had to use the other one for awhile."

"And I kind of liked it better," Link admitted. "So even when my hand got better, I just never switched back. So...I guess I write with both hands."

"You're left-handed," Navi told him, leaping into the air from her place on the windowsill. "Of course you're clumsy; you've been doing everything the wrong way your whole life."

"What?" Link asked. He looked down at his hands.

"You're _supposed_ to do stuff with your right hand," Saria said, frowning. "Everyone does!"

"Not always," Navi corrected. "I saw a warrior in the outside world once," she said quietly. "He looked a lot like you, but he wore his sword the other way around. Try putting it on the other shoulder."

Link slipped his sheath off obligingly and fixed it so it lay on his other shoulder. "Like this?"

"Right! Try it now."

Link reached up with his left hand and pulled the sword out of its scabbard, having much less trouble finding the handle this time around, laughing a little. "You're right," he said. "It feels better. How did you know?"

"Just a hunch," Navi said evasively. "Now try putting it back."

Link practiced with it a few times while Saria got together the rest of the things she'd found for Link. She put them all in a little bag, and put the back on his back between his scabbard and shield. "Just to keep it handy," she said. "It's got the slingshot, a few seeds to shoot with, and a Deku Nut. I put your ocarina in there, too."

"Thanks," Link said, twisting around to look at himself. "Well, I guess I'm ready for anything now."

* * *

"I can't do this."

"Link!"

"I can't _believe_ he's still there!" Link hissed, looking at a sullen Mido, who was still sitting resolutely in front of the path to see the Deku Tree. "It's been so long. He should have moved by now." He sighed, ducking back behind the house they were hiding behind.

"He's stubborn," Saria admitted, her eyes still trained on Mido. "He always has been."

"Did you really think he would leave?" Spryte sighed. "He's not going anywhere unless you make him. So make him!"

"I can't do this," Link said again. "I can't. He'll just laugh at me!"

"You've got to try," Navi said nervously. "I haven't heard from the Great Deku Tree, and he's been waiting a long time." She landed on Link's knee. "_Please_, Link."

Link looked down at her helplessly and suddenly felt the same sense of urgency; yes, it _had_ been awhile, what had he been doing all this time? "Navi..."

"If he laughs at you, I'll go to the Deku Tree myself and seek his guidance," Navi promised. "But we _have_ to get to him. It's important! I'll go with you, Link. You won't have to do it alone."

Link took a deep breath. "All right," he said nervously. "Okay. I'm going." He stood, peering around the side of the house again. Mido hadn't moved. "All right..." He smiled a little when he felt Navi land on his shoulder. "Thank you."

Link swallowed and stepped into view. Mido's head moved up to look at him at once, reminding Link strongly of a wolfos staring down its prey, and Link had to force out every step he took closer to Mido. By the time he had gotten to the cave leading to the Deku Tree's meadow, Mido was standing, hands on his hips, tapping his foot.

"Well?" Mido asked, unimpressed.

There was a long silence. Link wasn't sure what to do.

"M-move," he said finally. His palms were sweating. "I—I need to s-see the Great Deku Tree."

"You're out of luck," Mido snarled. "You'll never see him. If he's looking for courage, then he doesn't need to see a little crybaby like you."

_...sword..._

Link paused, eyes moving in the direction where Navi was still sitting on his shoulder. He thought he'd heard her speak.

_Use the sword, Link!_

Link's eyes widened. He _had_ heard her—but no one else had. Their bond! He felt a rush of warmth strong enough to, for just a moment, make him forget his terror.

"I-I'm not," he said, and clenched his teeth against his stuttering. He forced his next sentence out clearly: "I'm not a crybaby! I'm not stupid!" His left hand reached back behind him and he pulled out the sword from where it had been strapped behind him, pointing it at Mido. "I have to see the Deku Tree," he said again, more firmly now. "And you're going to let me by, or we're g-going to fight about it. Th-there's...no other way."

"I can't believe it," Mido breathed. "Where did you _get_ that?"

"The Deku Tree meant for him to have it!" Navi said. "He told me to take Link to it."

"Now let us by," Link said, knuckles white where he held his sword. His hands were shaking; he hoped Mido didn't notice. "Let us _by_, Mido."

Mido leaned down close to Link's face. "You can fight me," he hissed. "You can do whatever you want, you little brat. I hate you! I don't care how many things are _handed_ to you, I don't care how many people think you're _special_, I will never, _ever_ accept you as one of us, Link—"

"Mido." The quiet voice of Mallebron cut Mido off before he could finish.

Mido stood upright, eyes on the horizon. "What?" he asked, voice shaking, teeth clenched.

"Mido, they've won. Please, let's go home. You'll get sore sitting out here."

"I don't care!" Mido shouted. "It's not fair, Mallebron. It's not _fair_."

"All the same..." Mallebron lightly tugged on Mido's hair. "We should go."

Link didn't see it coming until he was on the ground. Mido had hit him right across the face, knocking him down. Even still, the sword stayed in Link's hand, the only small comfort he had as Mido stormed away.

"Geez," Link groaned, sitting up. He shook his head; his ears were ringing. "What's his problem, anyway..." He tried to ignore the stinging in his eyes. "Navi? Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," she answered. "He did it!" she called to Spryte and Saria, who were still watching from nearby. "Mido moved!"

"I see that," Saria called back, sounding doubtful. "Link, are you all right?"

"I'm okay!" he said, scrambling to his feet. "I'm going in now." He raised one hand to wave at her. She waved back. "I'll...see you in a little while, I guess," he said.

"See you," Saria agreed. "Good luck!"

Link smiled a little, then turned away and began the last step of his journey to see the Great Deku Tree at last.

* * *

The cave to the Deku Tree's meadow was dark and a little gloomy, with only Navi's glow and the little lights floating around to help them see. About halfway through, it had started to get foggy, and that had just made everything that much harder to see. Link kept his spirits up and his butterflies down by talking; about thirty seconds in the cave and he'd started chattering. He hadn't stopped since.

"...and there's always been so much I want to ask him. Do you think he'll let me ask him? I'd like to know why you couldn't come to me until now. I want to know why he lets Mido pick on me. What do you think he needs me for?"

"Mido?"

"No, the Great Deku Tree. Because I'm not very brave, you know..."

"I'm not sure," Navi admitted. She didn't have the heart to tell him what a bad feeling she was getting about all this, but he was so fidgety she thought it might have been rubbing off on him.

"I see light," Link said excitedly. The end of the cave! Finally, he would meet the Great Deku Tree face-to-face. Finally, he could ask about things that had been bothering him all his life. Link's heart raced with anticipation as the form of the massive tree made itself apparent through the fog. Finally, finally—

Navi stopped in mid-flight, both hands coming to her mouth. "Oh no," she gasped.

"Navi?" Link turned to her, immediately concerned.

She wasn't listening. "Great Deku Tree! Great Deku Tree!" She darted forward into the fog.

Link followed her at a run. "Navi, what—"

He stopped running. "Oh no," he breathed. "Oh no..."

Finally, here was the Great Deku Tree. The tallest thing in the forest by far, and the guardian spirit of all Link knew. He stood before Link in a perfect kind of majesty, the king of the forest.

In his side was a great smoldering hole, leading to nothing but blackness.


	38. Revised Chapter Four

**Author's Notes:** Chapter Four took a lot longer than I intended! Between now and then I've had summer vacation (Disney World, hurray) and my mother's had a heart attack. Real life gets in the way a lot. DX This isn't fully beta'd, but I decided to go ahead and post it anyway since my awesome beta (**Neo Diji**, go look her up!) is taking time off for real life too. I hope things improve for you soon, Kara. Anyway, until she's back on her feet, I'll more than likely be self-editing. (_Nooooooo..._)

Chapter Four was especially hard for me to write for a number of reasons. Firstly, the thing I am afraid of most is bugs, and this is the Gohma chapter. Living in South Carolina, I encounter some pretty big bugs pretty often. I tried to tap into that to write this chapter and make the reader feel the same sense of disgust as I do towards bugs (I was tempted to do a little rereading of Ron's parts in Chamber of Secrets :P) but I don't know if I got it where it should have been. (Kara says it was gross, so I'll trust her on that. XD) Secondly, it's over 10k in length because I combined it with what used to be Chapter Five (the old CH5 was like 2000 words). Lastly, this is the Deku Tree chapter. And we've all at some point or another decided to replay Ocarina of Time, played through the first one or two stones, and then moved on to other things. The Deku Tree is boring to us. It's boring to me. With that in mind, I tried to make it flow as well as I could. I don't think I got it spot-on, but I hope the little things made up for it (points if you can find any canon lines or attacks in this chapter).

I'm not wholly satisfied with how the chapter turned out. Action is one of my weak points, and dungeons are _hard_ to write, but I am satisfied that I did the best I could do! So, I hope you enjoy reading it more than I did writing it. XD As always, if you want to see the illustrations for this story, you can find them on my DA page. The link is in my profile.

_The songs for this chapter are ZREO's "Deku Tree", "Inside the Deku Tree", "Boss Battle", "Boss Battle" from the OoT Arrangements album, and the song "Ecolove" off of the Dune: Spice Opera soundtrack.  
_

* * *

Chapter Four

"Great Deku Tree!" Navi cried, flying up out of the mist to get higher than Link could see. "What happened? Please answer me!"

"Na...vi...?" The Deku Tree's voice was low and rough, and the word was spoken quietly. Despite that, Link could still hear him from down on the ground without any problem.

He had to strain to catch Navi's next words, though. "I'm here," she said, voice small. "Great Deku Tree, what happened?"

There was a moment of silence, then: "I waited...until after she was gone...to call you," the Deku Tree murmured. "I didn't want anyone else here...I didn't want anyone to be hurt..."

Link saw Navi's light for a moment as she dived lower, heard her voice echo down at him. "Until who was gone?" she asked. "Who was here?" Link couldn't see her; he could barely hear her. He squinted, taking a step forward and nearly tripping on one of the large roots that criss-crossed the ground below him.

The Deku Tree's branches groaned as he shifted. "The spider queen..._Gohma_." The Deku Tree's anger in the last word made Link shiver. "Navi...that evil man sent her to me...the man called Ganondorf..."

"No! Oh, no..." Navi started to cry, clearly distressed. "What does he _want_?"

"The jewel," the old tree sighed. "The Kokiri's Emerald. Queen Gohma burrowed in me to find it. I could not...I could not stop her..." There was a pause. "But we are being so rude, Navi...to forget our guest..."

Link felt the earth under him start to crack, shifting beneath his feet. He lost his balance and tipped backwards, but a thick root came up from the ground, shifting enough to catch him before he fell. Frightened, he clung to it, feet kicking uselessly as he dangled high above the meadow. As it lifted him into the air, higher and higher, he was freed of the thin layer of mist clinging to the forest floor. It was only then that he _saw_.

The Deku Tree was not the only tree in the meadow, but he was by far the largest. His roots went all the way out to the cave Link had just exited, and in the places where they joined the Deku Tree's trunk, they were more than three times Link's height. The old tree's branches stretched out towards the sun, and they were so thick and full the meadow below him was cast into shadow. Link could see clearly now, from this height, that the fog on the ground was coming out of that terrible hole in his side.

"Hello, Link," the Deku Tree rasped.

Link's eyes widened. The Deku Tree's face, made from knots and gnarls in the tree trunk, was enormous; bigger than all of Link. Somehow, watching such a large face speak was surprising. Link suddenly felt like he knew how it was to be a fairy. "H-hello, Great Deku Tree," he managed.

He heard a low, soft chuckle in response, and the root shifted to lift him all the way up onto it, chunks of earth crumbling off of it and dropping to the ground where they broke apart. "There, now...be at ease, child...you have nothing to fear...from me..." The Deku Tree paused. "You must have wondered...why I called you here..."

Link's eyes dropped down to the gaping hole in the tree's side. "A—a little."

"I wish that I could tell you everything...but my time is already so short..."

Link felt his heart drop to his stomach, and his eyes flew back up to the Deku Tree's face. "You're gonna die?" His fists clenched.

"Yes," the Deku Tree said. "Were that the only problem...I would not call you to me." The old tree heaved a sigh. "I can regrow, Link...inside my trunk is a seed. But she will take it...she will end my life for good..."

Navi, from her place in the air, choked back a sob. "You didn't tell me this would happen!" she whispered, and Link felt a sharp stab of empathy for her. The Deku Tree had betrayed her trust. "You _knew_ it would be bad, and you d-didn't tell me..."

"Navi..." The tree's voice softened. "Do not despair for me...worse still is the fate of the jewel. When she gets to it...she will take it from us...she will take it to _him_..."

"I don't understand," Navi said weakly, through her tears. "What could _he_ do with it?"

"It opens a gate, to..." The Deku Tree hesitated. "To an _incredible_ power...if he obtains it...we are lost." Now he looked directly at Link. "I believe...you will stop him."

_What?_ No, that was impossible; there had to be some sort of mistake... "M-me?" Link asked, disbelieving.

"Yes, you." The Deku Tree let out a rumbling chuckle. "Surely you have sensed it," he murmured. "The climate of evil descending over us...it comes to all of us who are sensitive to it...has your slumber these past nights not been restless, full of nightmares...?"

Link's breath caught in his throat. "You know about my dreams?"

"Yes..." The Deku Tree paused. "You dream of that wicked man from the desert...Ganondorf...but have no fear, Link...because..."

Link's eyes stayed locked on the Deku Tree's face.

"You will defeat Ganondorf." The Deku Tree exhaled so heavily that Link nearly fell off of the root holding him up, and his cap flew backwards off of his head. "You see, you are...the one, as was foretold before your time...the Hero of Time." The words sounded strange to Link. He'd never heard of a hero before. "You must go after Gohma...retrieve the Kokiri's Emerald, and the Deku Seed...before it is too late..." The root under Link began to sag downwards.

"W-wait!" Link called. "I don't—I don't think I can! I'm not brave or strong enough, maybe you should ask Mido—"

"No," the old tree sighed, and the root burrowed back under the ground. "It must be you...or no one at all. You're different...from the other children..."

"Different?" Link breathed, eyes locked on the old tree's face. His pulse was racing. _Different_... "How am I different?" he yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Is being different why I couldn't have a fairy?"

"Yes," the Deku Tree started. "You...are—" He stopped, and let out a pained groan, branches trembling.

Link hesitated, anxiety tearing at his insides. He wished so badly that Saria was here; she'd know just what to do. But she wasn't, and the Deku Tree was dying right here before his eyes. As much as Link longed to know why he had had no fairy all these years, how he was _different_, he knew a dying tree when he saw one. If he stayed to ask questions, wouldn't he be too late to save the seed?

"Don't worry." Link's voice shook. Face white, he reached down and picked up his hat. "I-I'll do what I can for you, Great Deku Tree...Navi?" he asked quietly. She was on the ground near the hole, still crying. He approached her, dry leaves cracking under his feet, and picked her up gently in the palm of his hand. "Are you okay?"

Navi wiped her eyes with the back of her arm and sniffed. "Yes, I-I'm all right," she said, and used her other arm to wipe at her eyes again. "Let's go." She leaped into the air and flitted to rest on Link's shoulder. "We'll do our best, Great Deku Tree!" she called. "I promise."

And Link and Navi journeyed together into the dark.

* * *

"So...now what?"

"Well, I suppose we just wait for him to get back."

Saria gave Spryte her best heartbroken face. "You really want us to just _wait_?" she asked. "I want to see what's going on!"

Spryte, used to Saria's methods of getting what she wanted, turned her own eyes away. "Well, you can't," she inisted. "Only those summoned may enter the Great Deku Tree's meadow. You know that!"

Saria huffed, folding her arms. After a moment, she dropped them and turned. "Of course," she said over her shoulder, starting off towards the cave. "But there's no rule about going to the end of the cave, right?" She grinned back at Spryte. "I won't put a toe inside that meadow, I promise!"

"Wh—" Spryte flew in front of Saria to stop her. "No! Absolutely not! You could get in deep trouble for this, Saria! Link was the one summoned, Link is the one allowed in!" Spryte folded her arms and began to fly back and forth in the air, much like one of the children would pace when they worried. "The Great Deku Tree has certain rules that _must_ be followed, you understand? He is our guardian!" Spryte flew up a little higher to peer at the branches she could see from where they were. "The king of the forest. We owe him our existence, our very lives. You can't just go around disobeying him so wantonly, Saria."

Just then, Spryte heard a rather distressing sound. A low groan came from the Deku Tree's meadow, and his branches shook. She could see a few leaves fall out and float towards the ground.

"Saria, did you hear that? It sounded like...Saria?" Spryte looked down. "Saria!"

Saria was gone.

* * *

"I thought you had questions to ask."

Navi's weak voice echoed in the dark cavern inside of the Deku Tree. The only light here besides that coming in from the hole was fairylight, and it didn't do much to penetrate the fog Queen Gohma had left behind. Link couldn't see the extent of the damage, but he could feel rotted wood beneath his feet, smell the burnt sap still drying on the cavern's walls, and he knew it was bad.

"I do, but...I'll have to wait," Link murmured finally, after edging a little closer to Navi. He swallowed. "I mean, he...he's really in trouble..."

"Yeah," Navi said quietly.

Link looked up and squinted. He couldn't see any type of end to the ceiling; it just kept going up and up and up. "Maybe she went up there," he said, taking another step inside the tree.

Navi landed on Link's shoulder, glancing down at the floor. She paused. "...no. I don't think so."

"It looks empty," Link argued. "...I wonder how big this spider is?" he mused nervously. He took another step forward. "I mean, I kill spiders for Saria sometimes 'cause she can't stand killing things, but..."

"Pretty big," Navi said. "Yeah, she's definitely a really big spider."

"How do you know?" Link asked curiously, still staring intently at what he could make out above him.

He took another step, and the ground beneath him gave, turning soft where he stood. Link, already jumpy, yelped and pushed himself backwards, but whatever he had just stepped on stuck to his feet and legs. Panicking, he slipped his feet out of his boots, and managed to get off of the sticky stuff and back to safety.

After a brief pause, Link scrambled to his feet. "What—"

"Look," Navi said, tone hushed, and flew down to illuminate the floor. Now Link could see what he had been stuck to—a giant spider's web, covering a hole in the floor that was nearly as big as the base of the Deku Tree's trunk. The hole went down and down and down, into darkness.

"You were right," Link whispered finally. "That's one big spider..."

* * *

"Saria...come back! Saria...!"

Spryte's voice echoed in the dim cave, but there was no reply to her calling. Out of breath from the quick flight after her charge, she sank against the cave wall to catch her breath, and her light dimmed. She was halfway through the cave, but she still hadn't quite caught up to Saria...there was no sign of her at all.

"Saria?" she called weakly. "Please wait..."

Spryte was greeted with unnerving silence.

The fairy sighed, waving her arm around to try and dispel some of the mist around her. "Ugh. Thicker than usual." Her eyes slid around her, still checking for Saria. "I hope everything's all right...hey, Saria!" She leapt up again, light coming back full-force as she resumed her flight, ignoring the strong sense of foreboding the cave was giving her today. "Saria! Come on back!" She pushed forward, knowing she'd only lost more time by stopping to rest. "Oooh, you're going to get it good when I catch up to you! If the Great Deku Tree doesn't get you first...!"

Spryte finally found Saria standing at the end of the cave. True to her word, she had not stepped a toe across the border. Instead she was motionless and silent. Spryte landed on her shoulder, checking her blank expression once before launching into, "Saria...!"

"Spryte," Saria choked finally. She raised a hand and pointed. "Look."

"What—"

A cold breeze came through, swirling dead brown leaves around the meadow and shifting the mist near the Deku Tree's base. It was visible to both Saria and Spryte now, and Spryte gasped as she laid eyes upon the gaping hole in his side, singed at the edges and smelling strongly of burnt sap.

"Oh...!" Spryte gasped. "Great Deku Tree!" She flew up to his face, dodging falling leaves as she went. "Great Deku Tree, what happened? Please, answer me!"

"Stop her," the Deku Tree mumbled at once. Spryte could see now the dead leaves on the forest floor had come from his branches; his leaves were turning colors even as she watched. "She needs you..."

"Stop who?" Spryte asked, dragging her eyes away from branches that were slowly baring themselves. "Great Deku Tree!"

"Saria..."

"Saria?" The fairy looked down by the mouth of the cave. "Ohh, she's gone _again_! But, Great Deku Tree, you..."

"Go after her!" the Deku Tree implored. "Hurry..."

Spryte took off without another question.

"She will cause a panic..." The Deku Tree's trunk was beginning to peel; it stripped away from his nose and mouth in chunks as he spoke. "My poor children...they will be so frightened..."

* * *

"So she definitely went _down_, then."

"I'd say so."

"How are we supposed to get down there?" Link asked, frustrated. He was tugging at his boot. Its mate lay on the floor beside him, covered in sticky white webbing, but this one refused to be pulled free. "I can't even get my boot out!"

"Try harder," Navi suggested.

"I _am_ trying harder!" Link gave the boot one sharp jerk and it finally came loose, flying out of his hands through the mist and hitting the wall behind him. Link overbalanced, his heavy new sword causing him to fall over backward. "Ow!"

"Oh! Are you all right?" Navi asked.

Link let out a soft groan. "I'm fine." He sat up and grabbed his cap where it had fallen, and put one sticky boot back on his foot. "Where'd it go?"

Navi flew over to light up the floor where the boot had fallen. "Over here." She landed lightly on it, avoiding the bits of webbing still stuck to the sides. "You know, fairies have the same sort of trouble with getting past spider webs sometimes."

Link put the first boot on and looked up at Navi with interest. "Really?" he asked, hobbling over to his other boot. She flew off as he grabbed it, and he put it on standing up. "What do you do about it?"

"Avoid them," Navi said sagely.

"That doesn't help!"

Navi allowed herself a small smile. "Well, sometimes we throw stones. To break the web," she explained. "But it usually makes the spider mad."

Link eyed the gigantic web with unease. "Oh. That's...great."

"I don't think we have anything big enough to throw at _this_ web, though," Navi admitted. "It'd take a hundred rocks, and by that time..." The wood around them shook; the spider was still digging. "He'll be gone," Navi whispered bleakly.

Link felt the weight of hopelessness threaten to crush him, and he swallowed the lump in his throat. "There's—there's got to be something!" he insisted. "Something heavier."

Navi huffed in frustration. "But if it's heavy enough to break the web, we can't _throw_ it—"

"We'd have to find something first." Link shifted, looking around. "How far up did she carve out, anyway?" He could make out the walls, barely, but the "ceiling" was too far up. "Maybe there's something up there. We could push it off!" Link said, inspired. "That'd break the web and then we could climb down. Well, you could fly," he allowed for Navi.

Navi hesitated. "I guess there's no harm in looking," she said reluctantly. "Stay here a second." She flew up, then, and took her light with her. Link felt uneasy alone in the dark. "It just keeps going and going!" she called down to Link. "I see more web up here...maybe you can cli—" Navi shrieked.

"Navi?" Link asked anxiously, standing on his toes. "Navi!"

Navi streaked back down to Link, hiding under his hat.

"Navi?" Link asked again, reaching up to feel for her. She was trembling. "Are you okay?"

"I-I am," she said.

"Then what happened?"

"There are _monsters_ up there."

* * *

"Saria?"

"Saria! Where are you going?"

Saria was running. She didn't hear the other children in the village as she made for the Lost Woods; she pushed right past them without looking at them. There was a rushing sound in her ears, nearly drowned out by the pounding of her heart. _One foot in front of the other_, she told herself; she had to keep running, even though her chest was burning for more air. She didn't dare to look around her yet. She needed to see the _life_ in the woods, to make her forget what she had just witnessed in the Great Deku Tree's meadow...

"Saria!"

Saria ran into something solid; one frightened glance upward revealed to her that it was Mido. After a moment's hesitation, she pushed past him, too, and kept going. She heard him follow.

"Hey! _Where_ are you _going_?"

Saria couldn't outrun him; she had already gone faster and farther than she was used to. Tears stung her eyes. He was going to catch up to her! She turned away from him so he wouldn't see her flushed face, determinedly keeping her pace at a walk to ease the cramps in her legs.

"What's wrong with you?" Mido asked when he reached her side, panting a little, himself. Mallebron was perched quietly on his shoulder. It had been he who suggested Mido follow Saria when they saw her running. "Answer me!

She didn't speak. Well, no wonder, Mido thought, he was probably the _last_ person she would willingly speak to...

"...Saria?" Mido asked again. "Where's Spryte?"

Saria still didn't answer him, and he felt dread creep into his chest. Had something happened to Spryte? He didn't know what came of a Kokiri if they lost a fairy... "Go look for her," Mido ordered Mallebron. The fairy hesitated, probably deciding whether or not he'd take to being bossed around, but in the end Mido guessed he didn't want to bother with the fight. He nodded once and streaked off.

Mido kept walking by Saria for awhile, not saying anything. Finally he ventured, "So where are we going?"

"_I'm_ going to the Lost Woods."

Mido was surprised she answered him at all. "Wonderful," he said. He hated the Lost Woods. "Well, why don't you just tell me what's wrong? Geez, you make everything so hard!"

Saria stopped walking and turned to Mido, reaching out and shoving him away from her. "I didn't ask you to follow me! Go home!"

He could see she was crying, now, and he rubbed his shoulder where she'd shoved him. That'd hurt. "I can't!" he explained, frustrated. "Geez," he said again, "I'm trying to be _nice_!"

"Well you stink at it!" Saria said, folding her arms and looking away. "What do you _want_, anyway?"

"I just want to know you're okay!" Mido shouted, throwing his hands up in frustration. "Okay?" He stared at Saria with a rather unhappy look on his face, then looked away. His tone softened. "Okay?" he asked again.

Saria started walking. Dutifully, Mido followed.

"After Link went into the cave," she started hesitantly, "I left Spryte behind to follow him, and..."

* * *

"Watch out!"

Link ducked and shielded his eyes; a Deku Nut was coming his way, and he didn't want it to hit him or blind him. While children in the village threw them as entertainment, that was definitely not the intent of the Deku Scrub that was spitting them Link's way. He knew if this Deku Nut hit him, it'd hurt.

"Okay, now!" Navi shouted.

Link opened his eyes and drew a few pellets back in his slingshot for a second before letting them fly. He didn't have time to aim, and only one of them hit the Deku Scrub, but Link imagined it had to have hurt, because the thing hissed something at him that he couldn't understand and burrowed back into its nest. Link was glad that was all it took. The scrubs in the Lost Woods were usually happy to play games with him despite their language barrier, and he would've felt guilty hurting one of their number too badly.

"Here!" Navi had scooped down and expertly retrieved the seeds Link had fired, and she handed them back to him now. "Hurry, keep going."

Link shoved the seeds in his pockets and made for the wispy strands of webbing on the wall. Unlike the stuff at the bottom of the tree, this web wasn't as tough or sticky; twice already it had already broken when Link put all of his weight on it. Still, it was his only method of going _up_—which was the only direction he could go at this point. The webbing seemed to be a trail pointing in the direction of the spider's path; only in places where there were ledges for the spider to climb on did it run out, and that made it possible for Link to follow. The whole thing spiraled above them endlessly—ledge, webbing, ledge—and thinking about how far he had come and how far he had left to go made Link a little dizzy.

Navi had flown ahead of him a little earlier to confirm there were large eggs at the top of the tree that they could push off onto the webbing. Link was relieved to hear that, and didn't have any problems with smashing the eggs. Considering the size of the thing that had most likely laid them, he was more than happy to take care of that predicament before it got started.

Meanwhile, Link was getting pretty good with his slingshot; when he had time to aim, he usually hit the mark. It had been his only weapon against his foes so far; the sword was too awkward and heavy to use while he was busy climbing. He had only encountered a few angry scrubs, but Navi warned him the monsters near the top of the tree were worse. It wasn't long before Link saw for himself that she was right.

The webbing ran out on Link's side of the wall, and he was forced to stop and let Navi look for another way up. He had never been much of a climber, always having a small fear of heights when he climbed anything but small trees, but climbing anything this huge with a sword and shield on his back was really pushing his endurance to the limit. He was glad enough to step onto the ledge jutting out of the inner wall of the tree and sit down.

"I'm tired," Link said into the dark, rolling his shoulders a little. They were already sore. He drew his knees up a little, gaze turned downward.

Navi heard him from across the tree, where she was using her light to find more webs. "I know," she soothed. She swallowed as the tree rumbled around them again, acutely aware of how quickly their time was running out. "But we're nearly to the top, so—"

She was cut off by a yelp from Link; something had burst up from the ground in front of him and taken firm hold of his right arm.

"Link—!" Navi flew closer, could make out the indistinct shape of a nut-shaped monster attached to the ledge by a thin vine. "Sword!" she called, and saw him grope clumsily behind him for it. A second later the monster let out a high-pitched shriek; Link had cut the vine. He shook it off easily enough after that, and dropped down into the darkness.

"Are you all right?" Navi asked worriedly, flying over to check his arm.

"Yeah." The skin on Link's arm was very red, but thankfully unbroken. "I've never seen those up close before. Just in the Lost Woods, sometimes...it was huge!"

"You beat it all by yourself," Navi pointed out, and allowed herself a grin as she watched the wonder come over his face. "With a sword, too," she reminded him, just to add a little to his confidence.

"I guess I did." Link seemed pleased. "Did you find anything over there?"

"Straight path up to the eggs," Navi reported. "You just have to ease over there; this ledge should be wide enough."

"All right." Link swallowed, nervous despite that fact that he was getting more used to being in high places. It wasn't too bad, especially when he kept reminding himself that he was really just climbing trees like he always did, but he was slow and careful as he sheathed his sword and made his way over to the new webbing. This stuff was a lot thicker and a little sticky, but his boots didn't get caught as they had earlier.

"Almost there," Navi coached, from a short distance above his head. "I can kind of see—" She quieted.

"What?" Link asked anxiously. He grit his teeth and forced his aching limbs past his exhaustion to climb higher still, just a little faster. _Almost there_, he reminded himself.

"Get your sword out," Navi said tightly, as soon as Link flopped himself over the side of the ledge to a lying-down position on the top.

"What?" Link panted. "Why?" He sat up on one elbow to squint through the dark, then his eyes widened in horror. He scrambled to his feet.

As Navi had said, the eggs laid by Queen Gohma were quite large. Link had no doubt that they would have once come up to his chest if he had stood next to them. Now, however, the eggs were sticky piles of broken shells, and whatever had been inside them was nowhere to be seen.

"That's not good," Link said, and reached behind him for his sword. Navi heard it too, he knew; the light scratching of spider's legs on the floor behind them. Not feeling very safe, Link slipped his other arm into the straps on the back of his shield.

He turned around and came face to face with a single glowing eye, and before he even had time to process the shock, the newborn spider had moved back and rammed into him. He lost his footing and fell backwards, down into the dark.

* * *

A rushing sound filled his ears. He was cold, wet, he stung all over from the impact. _Underwater_, he realized dimly, and forced himself not to breathe. How could he have fallen into the water? He didn't remember hearing a splash.

_"If you want to swim, fine. But stay away from me!"_

Link hadn't been under water since then; hadn't been able to face the fear of disorientation, not being able to tell where the surface was or how to get out. He couldn't swim. He didn't know what to do. He opened his eyes, but everything was dark. His sword was weighing him down, dragging him deeper into the murky depths, and he panicked, flailing uselessly as the water pressed in on him, suffocating him. He couldn't just let it go—so down he went...

Down. Down, down, down...

Wait...if that way was down, the other way was—

Link had never swam before, but he tried his best, kicking and moving his arms, trying to put all that heavy water under him. His lungs ached, his body screamed at him to _breathe_, and he had to obey—

His head burst out of the surface of the black water and he gasped for air, coughing and choking on the water he'd already swallowed. It hurt to breathe, but it hurt so much less than not breathing that he couldn't help but feel grateful. He looked around, but he still couldn't see very much, just his cap floating on the water nearby. Navi, where was Navi? She had the light.

"Link!" She streaked down to him from above, and as she grew closer Link's weak relief turned to stark terror that was not his own; she was frightened for him.

"Navi!" he called weakly. His voice was hoarse and unsteady; he was panting, not quite able to keep his head above water with the sword and shield on his arms. "I can't—" His head slipped under again, but he forced his weary legs to kick and keep him alive. He came back up, the wet hair clinging to his face threatening to suffocate him all over again.

"Here, over here, come this way—"

Link followed her voice and was relieved to feel something solid under his feet. He stumbled forward and flung the sword ahead of him, not caring how it landed so long as he could safely let go of it.

"Watch out!"

"Sorry," Link rasped. He hadn't been aiming for Navi.

As soon as he got to shore, he laid on his back stayed still, just staring above him. He couldn't hear much over the sound of his own pounding pulse and heavy breathing. The air was thick and damp, hard to breathe in, and it smelled like wet dirt.

Something wet slapped the ground next to his face, and Link glanced over. Navi had retrieved his cap for him. "Thank you," he murmured.

Navi glanced up once, still nervous, and flew down to land on Link's chest. "Are you all right?" she asked anxiously. "I know you can't swim."

"I didn't drown," Link answered shortly, which they both understood to be mean he was as all right as he was going to get at this point. "Where are we...? I thought the web..."

"You broke the web," Navi said, taking to the air again and looking out over the water. "See it?"

Link turned his head. Clumps of white, stringy stuff were bobbing on the water's surface. "So we're down below it?" Link guessed. He let his eyes travel up—he'd fallen down that big hole...all the way from the top of the tree...he could see a little light at the top, coming from the hole in the Deku Tree's side, but most of the real light was down here with him now. He knew one spider was probably still up there, but where were the rest of them? Had Queen Gohma laid more eggs...? Link strained his ears, listening.

"We're in the Great Deku Tree's roots," Navi said finally, and flew upward a little further to look around. "You're going to have to be careful. There's water everywhere."

"I'd have to be careful anyway," Link said wearily. "Hear that?"

Navi paused and listened. Something was rustling in the dark. "Better get up," she told Link reluctantly.

Link groaned and forced himself to sit up. He grabbed his cap and wrung it out, putting it back on his head despite it being wet, and slowly got to his feet. He grabbed his sword and adjusted his shield, listening...

They couldn't see, and Navi's light made them a perfect target for anything that might've been lurking in the shadows. Link tried to calm his racing heart, pick out which way was the best to proceed from where they were. He could hear spiders everywhere, now that he was listening...

"Behind you," Navi hissed.

He turned to see a few glowing eyes in the darkest corners of the cavern, the careful tapping of spider legs warning him just what was attached to those eyes. Link shivered, cold and afraid and utterly exhausted, but his grip tightened on his sword as the first spider crawl forward. He watched it creep around the pool of water he had just come out of and skitter around closer to him, and he couldn't help but back up a step, taking a quick glance in the direction he had been facing as he did. His heart dropped into his stomach; there were more popping up behind them.

The spider was on him before Link turned his head back; it rammed into him and knocked him off of his feet. The second attack came just as quickly, and Link let out a yelp, raising his arms instinctively. He was surprised when he felt the blow strike his shield instead, and looked up in wonder. He was still okay! Heart racing, he scrambled to his feet, keeping his shield arm up. The shock from the third blow really hurt, and Link peered above it to see the spider stumbling backwards.

Link took the opportunity to lash out with his sword, and to his complete surprise, the spider fell easily into halves. Link swallowed his revulsion and whirled around to check for spiders behind him; a mistake, as one came up from the first side and knocked him down again.

"Link—!"

"I'm okay," Link gasped, getting back to his feet and looking around him with panic. Everywhere his eyes landed, he saw more spiders. There weren't that many, but they were surrounding him. He had to get to a wall, or something; he needed some way to protect his back.

Gritting his teeth, Link ducked his head low and barreled through them, shield held up to protect himself. He was knocked down twice before he made it to the wall of the cavern, and by the time he was pressed up against it, he was aching all over and out of breath. He could feel Navi on his shoulder, a small reassurance, but being cornered by no less than a dozen spiders unnerved him.

"One at a time," Navi said lowly. "Stay against the wall, go for the eyes."

"Right," Link panted. "Wish me luck."

"Luck," Navi whispered, and hid her face in her hands as the first group of spiders converged on them.

Link's shield stayed steady, taking the blows without any problem. No, Link was more worried his arm would break than his shield; every time a spider hit the shock traveled right up to his shoulder. He waited until the thumping stopped and saw that the spiders were stumbling backwards, dazed, and did as Navi instructed; he focused on one at a time, swinging one way and then the other before driving his sword into a glowing eye. After a short time he fell into a steady rhythm of this: _side, side, stab_. One by one, they all fell, until they were nothing but a rather sickening pile of parts. Link hesitantly stepped away from the wall, but—

"Watch out!" Navi warned. "More coming!"

Link looked right—no, left—there!—but they were on him, surrounding him before he had a chance to get back to the wall. One rammed into him, and another did the same from the other side, so hard that he was never off of his feet. He could hear Navi shouting—

"—spin, spin!"

Spin? Link didn't see how that would help.

"Grab your sword and—"

_Oh._ Link didn't even need to hear the whole explanation; somehow he seemed to understand what Navi was thinking of without really having to ask. He brought his sword up to one of the spiders, cutting it in two in the process and giving himself a little elbow room. Sword straight out, Link spun around hard, feeling spider after spider fall to his blade, hissing or screaming as they died.

Both of Link's arms really _hurt_, now, and he was relieved to hear silence in the dark, see no more glowing eyes creeping at him from out of the shadows. He dropped his sword and slid down against the wall, exhausted down to his bones. "Oh, Navi. Are they all dead?"

"I think so." Navi was curled up against the skin of his neck, trying to offer him some comfort. The tree rumbled around them, and she said reluctantly, "We can't rest long..."

"I know." The thought of getting back up after all this made Link want to cry. He wanted to go _home_. "Just a minute. I can't move." He looked at the pile of spider bodies collected near his feet and drew his knees up a little. One of the legs twitched, and Link swallowed down revulsion, closing his eyes. It didn't help any; the image seemed to be burned on the back of his eyelids. "I don't...I don't think I can do much more. How am I supposed to kill a spider even bigger than that...?"

"I don't know," Navi said nervously. The tree shook again, stronger this time. "You have to try. I'm so sorry. I wish you didn't. But it has to be you."

"Why?" Link asked, drawing his knees up further. "I don't think I can. I'm not very brave. I want to go home." The rumbling grew stronger, and Link willed it to stop, just for five minutes. "I'm really, really scared."

"Me too," Navi admitted. "But we're at the bottom of the tree. She's close. We're almost done."

Link's eyes opened. He gazed wearily at the dead spiders next to him. They were harder to see, now; more mist had gathered down here. "If we get done at all." His throat was tight.

There was a crash and a hiss from somewhere to Link's right, above his head. He grabbed his sword and scrambled to his feet. The tree shook again, so hard he nearly lost his balance. "What—"

"It's her!" Navi shrieked, and took to the air. "It's Gohma! Look!"

* * *

Link looked, and wished he hadn't. All he could see was that glowing eye, but it was so huge and so high up...

Gohma's eye rolled around in her head once, then turned to the piles of dead spiders—her children, Link realized too late, cold with terror. "Oh, no. She saw them. She saw them. We're gonna die."

"What?"

"We killed her kids! She must've heard them—"

Gohma let out an unholy shriek, and started in slowly towards Link. She was obviously quite heavy; each step caused the tree to shake around her, a trembling Link could feel from the bottoms of his feet all the way to the tips of his ears. He couldn't see her, though—everywhere she stepped more wood rotted away, leaving a thick mist in its wake that obscured her completely from view. He took a step back, frightened, and looked up helplessly at the hole. No way out. He had to stay, anyway. The Deku Tree was counting on him...if Link didn't do this, then...

"I'm going for the eye!" Link said suddenly, resolve strengthened, and sheathed his sword. His didn't have time to put his shield back on; he pulled out his slingshot as he was, loading up a few seeds. He had time to aim this time, but none of the seeds hit their mark; his hands were shaking.

Gohma reared up on her back legs and let out another one of those hair-raising screams, then slammed down in front of Link, her eye only inches from his face, clearly visible through the fog. She hissed, drew back and rammed into him—

—and was met with the tip of Link's sword. It lodged itself right in her eye, and she let out another scream, drawing back and taking Link's sword with her. She writhed around, trying to shake it out, but it held fast. Terrified, Link backed away and slipped his shield on his back as he made for the water he'd come up from not long before.

"Where are you—"

"Hiding," Link said urgently, and sloshed back down into the water, leaving just his head above it. He pulled his cap down low and urged Navi to dim herself. "I don't know what to do," he whispered, breaths coming fast. He was in tears, now. "She's got my sword." He swallowed, frightened. "Navi, please, please don't fly away."

"Fly away?" Navi asked, shocked. "No! I won't leave you here. I won't fly away from you, Link," she said fiercely. "A fairy and their charge are bound forever! Whatever happens from now on, you won't be alone."

It was a long time before Gohma did anything other than shriek and pound the walls of the tree, and Link, scared, cold, and wet, could do nothing but wait. His fortune was good enough that Queen Gohma couldn't see him, but there was one frightening moment where she advanced towards the pool of water with alarming speed. Instead of taking Link's head off, however, she shot webbing on the hole Link had fallen down and climbed up to the top of the tree, sword still in her eye. Link scrambled out of the water to watch her climb. Her movements were slow and clumsy; she left a trail of black blood all over the webbing she climbed.

"She's bleeding," Link informed Navi uselessly. "Now what?"

"I don't know. If that sword stays in her eye, she won't last much longer."

_Of course_, Link thought, but neither would he; he was already shaking with cold and exhaustion.

The eye appeared over the hole, glaring down at them, and Link gasped and pulled himself back into the shadows. But she couldn't see them; that eye was twisting uselessly, just trying to dislodge Link's sword.

Gohma let out another scream and leapt down the hole, coming down to the pool of water with a splash that drenched Link, Navi, and the walls of the cavern. Link didn't know how far down the roots went, how deep that pool was, but she climbed back out like it was nothing, hissing and rolling that eye of hers. Terrified, Link stood absolutely still as she lowered her head to feel for anything moving around.

_Don't breathe_, Link thought at Navi, very hard, in hopes that she could hear it. That eye was very close to him now, and he was afraid somehow Gohma would be able to pick up on the pounding of his heart. That freezing terror that he could die—really die, like no Kokiri ever should—any second now, was enough to take his breath away. He didn't want to move.

_Be brave_, Navi's voice murmured back to him, and Link swallowed. He _wasn't brave_. He'd been trying to tell everyone that this whole day. He _had_ no courage...

Gohma's eye, blinded and covered in blood, stopped not a hair's breadth in front of Link. It rolled; the handle of his sword brushed his hand and stayed rested against it.

Link turned his hand and took hold of it, yanking it out of Gohma's eye. She screamed, rearing back and coming down nearly on top of him, one massive, hairy leg brushing by his side on its way down. Link gasped and backed up, skin burning at the contact, then squeezed his eyes shut, and—_side, side...stab!_

Gohma let out another screech of anguish, and Link opened his eyes, yanking his sword back out, terror pounding at his chest so hard he could scarcely breathe, and—again! _Side, side, stab_—_side, side, stab_—she was wounded, she couldn't fight him, but her flailing movements were just as dangerous, with her size—Link kept going even after she had fallen down, even after she was quiet and the floor of the tree was slick with spider's blood, even after the black goop was on his arm and his chest and his face—he had to make _sure_—

"Link...Link, it's okay." Navi's voice sounded like it was coming through a long tunnel.

"What if she gets back up?" Link asked, eyes wide, and swung again at the dead spider queen. "She could get back up! She could..."

"She won't get back up," Navi said. "Stop, stop...Link, it's okay. You're done. She won't get back up."

It took a little more convincing before Link hesitantly lowered his sword, eyes still locked onto Gohma. He stayed still for a long time, then squeezed his eyes shut. "I—"

"It's okay," Navi soothed. "I know. You did so well. I'm so proud."

"Thanks," Link said. He felt his throat tighten and worked not to cry, but it was _hard_. "N-now what do we do? We have to get the seed, right...?" He sniffled; he was crying anyway.

"Right," Navi said gently. "I know it's around here somewhere."

Link nodded, once, and brought his hand up to wipe his face. His right hand—the left one was covered in black blood.

It wasn't a long search, despite the thick mist that still lingered from the fight with Gohma. They went in the direction she had come from and found the seed easily enough; she had been right at it before turning around. It looked like a giant Deku Nut to Link, and he was dismayed to see it was scratched up, "But," as Navi had pointed out, "it can still be planted."

"And the other thing?" Link asked doubtfully. "That stone."

"It's probably just a little deeper. It was supposed to be kept by the seed, to keep it strong..."

Link dropped to his knees. "I'll dig." It wasn't like digging through dirt, through there was dirt here in the floor, near the roots. It was more like pulling out chunks of rotten wood from the ground. Link was already wet and slimy, and the dirt that came up with the wood stuck to him, splintering in his hands.

It was only a short time before they saw the glow, through the darkness and mist. It was a brilliant green, one that reminded Link of _life_, and he doubled his efforts, digging and pulling up wood, until he held in his grimy hands the Kokiri's Emerald.

"It's so beautiful," he said, awestruck. It felt warm beneath his fingers, nearly numbed with cold. "She was going to take this from him?"

"From all of us," Navi said. "And give it to Ganondorf."

_The man in my dreams._ Link hesitated, then slipped the stone into his pocket. "I guess the only way out now is up."

"It is," Navi agreed. "Come on...we're nearly done."

* * *

Link emerged from the Deku Tree wet, exhausted, and the dirtiest he'd ever been. He wanted nothing more than to go home undisturbed and sleep until all of his exhaustion melted away.

What he got instead was a fierce hug, so swift and sudden that he went for his sword without thinking.

"Leave her alone!"

Link felt a hard sock to his jaw and stumbled backwards, blinking in the bright light of the outdoors. "Wha—" Another hit, and he fell to his knees.

"Stop it, Mido!"

Link grimaced, waiting for the next blow. It didn't come. He looked up hesitantly, squinting in the light, to see Saria and Mido standing over him. Mido looked livid, and Link realized with a rush of shame that he'd nearly drawn a sword on his best friend when she had tried to hug him. No wonder Mido had hit him. He deserved it.

"Sorry," he rasped, eyes turning back down to the ground. He wound his arms around himself, trying to hold it together. "I—"

"Please understand," Navi cut in for him. "It was hard in there. It was hard for him."

"It's okay," Saria said quietly. "I didn't mean to scare you." She threw an unreadable look in Mido's direction and knelt next to Link. "Are you okay?" Her hand squeezed his shoulder, unafraid of the blood on his clothes.

Link kept his eyes on the ground. "I think so. I'm tired." He swallowed, forced himself to look up at Saria. His eyes hurt. The light was so bright out here. "The Great Deku Tree—is he—?"

"He's sleeping," Mido said stonily. "He wanted to hold out for you. Great Deku Tree!" he shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Link's back!"

The meadow shifted as the Deku Tree woke, roots creaking as they stretched, branches trembling in pain. Brown, dried leaves floated down to rest on the ground around them. "Link..."

Link forced himself up to his feet, turning around and backing up far enough so that he could try and see the Deku Tree's face through the mist. He felt Saria's hands holding him up by his arm and was grateful; he was sure he wouldn't have remained on his feet much longer on his own. "I'm here!" he called, voice weak. "I brought them back. The seed and stone."

There was a low, pleased chuckle. "Well done...I knew...that you would...Spryte, Mallebron, if you will..."

Spryte and Mallebron, silent up until this point, flew over to Link. "He wants the fairies to care for the seed," Spryte told Link gently.

"Can you carry it?" Link asked them. "It's not heavy, but it's big."

"We can," Mallebron said softly. And together they did, the fog in the meadow obscuring them from sight before they got very far.

The Deku Tree let a moment of silence sit, then, as he had done with Link before, he raised the three children before him up off the ground to speak with them face-to-face. Saria's grip on Link tightened, and Link himself nearly lost his balance again, but no one fell. The climb was slower, this time, and not as high. The Deku Tree was out of strength.

What Link could see of the Deku Tree now was horrifying. Great chunks of bark had fallen from his face, and almost all of his branches were withered and bare. He looked smaller, somehow, without the canopy of leaves shielding the meadow from the sun, and the change was heartbreaking.

"Saria." The Deku Tree addressed her first. "Be not afraid...of the future, child...you have been...a good mother. But now...the times of mothering are over...you have a new responsibility. Help care for the seed...and all of my children...can you do this...?"

"Yes, Great Deku Tree," Saria said, and Link heard her stifle a sob. He reached over and grabbed her hand. She latched on and squeezed tightly.

"Mido..."

Mido straightened up, jaw clenched. "Yes, Great Deku Tree?"

"Place no blame on Link, for...for what he has done here today...is an act...of heroism." The Deku Tree's voice was stern. "Do not grieve for me...I was doomed...before he started..."

Mido's hands curled into fists. "Why do you have to die?" he demanded. "Before Link—"

"Even for...ones such as yourselves...time changes everything..." The Deku Tree drew a rasping breath. "I am sorry...for your pain...please know, Mido...time will...heal...all wounds..."

Mido didn't say anything.

"Link..." The Deku Tree paused. His voice was weakening. "Brave Link...listen to me...I wish...I could say everything...yet, I...I have time...only for this..."

Link swallowed. _Brave Link?_

"You are courageous." The Deku Tree's voice became marginally stronger at this, as if he'd been saving himself for it. "You will become a fine hero one day. You must never allow that man Ganondorf...to lay his hands on the power behind the gate...the power that he wanted so much...that he sent the spider queen to me..."

"What about the stone?" Navi asked the Deku Tree. "Where would you have us keep it?"

"_Link_ must keep it," the Deku Tree murmured. His voice had weakened again. "Link must...take the stone...to Zelda..."

"Zelda?" Link asked. "What's a Zelda?"

The Deku Tree chuckled weakly, shaking off more leaves in the process. Almost all of them were gone, now. "The Princess...of Destiny..." The Deku Tree's bark began to turn gray, starting from the bottom, and the roots holding up Mido, Saria, and Link lowered themselves to the ground for the last time. "You...children...are the world's...last hope..."

"Great Deku Tree!" Link's breath hitched, and he sank to his knees. "Please, don't..."

"You must...meet Zelda..." The Deku Tree murmured. "Zelda...is your..."

The last remaining leaf on the Deku Tree's branches fell. His eyes closed, and he did not speak again.

* * *

Link rose slowly to his feet and wiped at his eyes. He gazed up at the Great Deku Tree—a magnificent sight to behold that morning, and now, late in the afternoon, he was quieted forever. _The Princess of Destiny..._ Link took a deep breath, slipped the Kokiri's Emerald in his pocket, and tore his eyes away from the Deku Tree for the last time. "C'mon, Navi," he said. His voice was rough.

"Where do you think you're going?" Mido growled, and he jerked Link back so hard that Link wound up sitting on the ground. "Don't you have any explanation for this? The Great Deku Tree is _dead_ and it's all your fault!"

"No it isn't!" Saria said. "Link didn't do anything wrong! He did exactly what the Great Deku Tree told him to, it's the same thing you would've done—"

"No!" Mido's fists were clenched. "I'm sick of you protecting him, I won't—_where are you going_?" Mido demanded again, once Link had gotten to his feet.

"To change clothes," Link said tiredly. "I'm not clean."

"You can change and get out," Mido said flatly. "Take your stuff, take your stupid _sword_, take your dumb _fairy_—"

"Hey!" Navi protested.

"—but get _out_ of here and don't come back!"

"Mido!" Saria protested, as Link began to walk away. "Mido, you can't just—Link, come back!" Link felt her hands on his arm, supporting him as he walked. Did he really look so unsteady on his feet? "Link, you can't leave..."

"I'd have to anyway," Link murmured, leaning on Saria more than he really wanted to, in front of Mido. "The Great Deku Tree told me I had to find 'Zelda'. I can't go against his wishes...I've never belonged here, anyway," he admitted, more to himself than her. The Deku Tree had said he was different...and Mido...

"You belong with _me_ no matter what!" Saria was crying. "You can't leave."

Alarmed, Link looked over. "Saria..."

"I'm afraid he has to go," Navi cut in gently. "We can't ask him to disobey the Great Deku Tree. It's important."

"But Mido—" Saria glanced behind them, where Mido was still standing. "If you leave, he won't let you back in. And Kokiri will die if they leave the forest!"

"Link won't die by leaving the forest," Navi said.

Link looked up at Navi. "How do you know?"

"You just won't," Navi said firmly. "I promise. Now here we are. Go on up and get changed and packed, Link."

"Packed!" Saria said, aghast. "He's exhausted, look at him! Give him a little time to rest!"

"Do you really think Mido will let him rest for long?" Navi asked sadly. "Look, here he comes..."

Link let their voices fade to background noise as he went inside his house, not wanting to meet with Mido at all. The first thing he did was change clothes; if he never had spider blood on him again, it'd still be too soon. After that he began getting the things he'd need with him if he was going to stay somewhere else. He only had the one hat, but he'd need several changes of clothes. He wrapped an extra tunic around each item he put in his bag—the stone, his slingshot and his comb. His ocarina went in his pocket. Finally, after some deliberation, he packed the journal he was writing in. He'd leave the old ones here for Saria, in case she got lonely, but she'd always told him to write every day...well, now that he finally had something to write about...

He went out and stood on his porch, watching his best friend and his fairy partner argue—over _him_. They'd made a scene; every Kokiri in the village had come over to investigate, and it got even worse when Mido jumped in.

"—don't understand! He needs me!"

"He _has_ to go. I'm sorry, Saria."

"Just let the brat go. No one needs him around anyway. He killed the Great Deku Tree!"

Link winced. The rest of the Kokiri were whispering about him, now...the way they always had. But he _did_ have to go; Navi was right. He could feel more clearly now than ever that he didn't belong here...and if the Deku Tree told him to find Zelda, he would _have_ to find her. The sense of duty he felt now was amazing; maybe something he was picking up from Navi, maybe not. But all he could think of was how terrible it had been, fighting Queen Gohma...if there was something worse than _that_, and only he could stop it...

"Don't you understand? He'll be a child forever. He can't go out into a world of adults!"

"There are children there, too," Navi reminded Saria gently. "He—oh!" She'd spotted Link. "There you are. Are you ready?"

"I think so," Link breathed. He clumsily made his way down the ladder, and when he missed the last rung, Saria rushed forward to catch him.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Link mumbled. "Let me go. I-I have to go."

"You don't!" Saria took Link's hand. "Link—please. Don't go."

Link met her eyes, tiredly, and squeezed her hand. Then he pulled his own away. "I have to go." He started to say something else, but when he looked at Mido his nerve died. He shook his head and started walking, towards the fallen log that led out to the bridge...as for what was beyond that, none of them knew.

His footsteps were echoing on the wood before anyone spoke to him again.

"You really are leaving, aren't you?"

Link closed his eyes, then turned around. There was no one else around now; it was just Navi, Saria, and himself.

"I'll wait on you, Link," Navi said softly, and flew ahead of them.

For that moment, they were alone.

Link was the first to break the silence. "I have to go." He folded his arms, hugging himself. "I feel like—I should have known I was leaving, all along. I'm different! And those dreams..."

Saria reached out and folded Link into a tight hug, squeezing him hard and not letting go. "It's okay," she whispered. "We'll always be friends, right?" Her hand shifted, and she slipped his ocarina out of his pocket, kissed his cheek, and stood back.

"Saria—"

She shook her head, and pulled out her own ocarina, handing it to him and putting Link's back in her own pocket. "I want you have this," she said, hand outstretched, face wet with tears. "Promise me, Link, that you'll give it back to me some day."

Link reached out and took the ocarina, his hand squeezing around hers. "I promise," he said, and made a promise to himself, too: no matter what it took, he would keep that promise to Saria. He would see her again.

He pulled her to him now and hugged her again, hard, starting to cry himself. He squeezed his eyes shut; his hand closed tight around her ocarina. "I'll think of you every day," he whispered. "I promise to keep writing in my journal, and not to sleep in so much, and eat right..."

Saria laughed through her tears. "You'd better."

Link opened his eyes; curious Kokiri were peering at them through the fallen log. Mido stood in front of them, arms folded, cold fury coming from him in waves. Link released Saria and stood back, meeting Mido's eyes and swallowing down his fear. "I have to go."

A question passed over her face, then she whirled around and saw Mido and the others. "Link—" She turned back to him.

Link drew his arm across his eyes, swallowing the lump in his throat. "I'll miss you," he whispered. His eyes looked over her shoulder; Mido was still glaring at him. He took two steps backwards, then, unable to bear it any longer, he turned and fled, leaving his childhood behind forever.


	39. Revised Chapter Five

**Author's Notes:** After some deliberation I decided to delete the old versions of the "revised" chapters I did awhile ago. They're no good anymore and I had several more to go replacing them before I got back to just adding onto this document. I'm also deleting the "oldest" versions of the chapters as I come out with them, save for the first chapter, which I have decided to leave up as a testament to my growth as a writer...lots of growth. I almost can't even read that!

If you're just starting this party, go back and reread, please, or nothing will make any sense to you. You can start at "Revised Prologue". :D

I have had the honor of having the talented Neo Diji beta this chapter. Thanks so much, Kara, you're a life-saver! Any remaining mistakes are my own, guys.

I decided to add in an extra visit to the ranch before reaching Market Town. I think it works out well! This chapter was so much fun to write; I had an unexpectedly good time with Malon. She's a chatterbox, and I had fun making use of the fact that children tend to be like little tape recorders. Lots of groundwork for other things laid in this chapter, even though a lot in itself didn't happen. It's pretty long!

_The songs for this chapter...guys, ZREO completed its OoT album. Go download it. This time we have their versions of Lon Lon Ranch, regular and soundscape, and Hyrule Field. We also have the theme from Cremia's Wagon from Majora's Mask. Wrong game, I know, but I loved the mellow feel of it.  
_

* * *

Chapter Five

The forest was always quiet in the late afternoons, and today was no exception. There was no sound except for the chirping of insects and singing of birds. The wind passed through the trees like silk, only just stirring the wildlife that was already settling down for the night. Birds, roused by branches swaying under them, fluttered from tree to tree restlessly before settling back in the branches and starting again with their songs. Navi took comfort in their life, their singing. The Deku Tree had died, but he would be reborn. The forest that they were leaving behind would live on. All thanks to Link...

Navi had been down this way only once, a long time ago. It had been later in the day, then, the setting sun turning the sky blood-red over her, making the tall shadows of the trees look like demons, making the sounds of fighting and screaming all the more terrifying. Even now Navi shivered at the memory. It was then that she'd learned what _war_ was, first-hand. She hoped this journey out of the forest would be easier to bear, for both her sake and Link's.

_Link..._

Navi turned to peer back over her shoulder. She could, in the distance, just make out Link and Saria, and felt a sharp pang of grief for them both; things would only get harder from here on out. She only hoped she had the strength to carry on where the Deku Tree could not. She was only a fairy, after all...

"It's rather sad, isn't it?"

Startled, Navi squeaked and wheeled around to find the source of the voice, but looking around, she saw no one. "H-hello?" she called.

"Ooh hoo hoo, my apologies!" the voice laughed. "I did not mean to frighten you. Look up a bit further—yes, here I am."

Navi let her wide eyes travel slowly up the trees before her, and put a hand up to shield her eyes from the sun. She saw trees, a couple of birds flitting back and forth between them, and very large owl, but nothing that could have spoken to her. "I don't see you."

To her surprise, it _was_ the owl that spoke. "My dear, you're looking right at me."

"Oh!" Navi jumped in surprise. "I'm sorry," she said. "I've never met an owl who could talk before."

The owl unfurled its huge wings once, and leapt off the tree branch, gliding down to rest on the ground before Navi. He was even larger than Link was, Navi realized. "I don't doubt that you haven't," the owl said, preening just a little. "As grand and wide as the world is, I am the only owl in it who speaks the words of men. Some call me Kaepora Gaebora."

"Pleased to meet you," Navi said politely, tucking one ankle behind the other and bobbing in a midair curtsy. "Er—everyone calls me Navi."

The owl let out one soft hoot and dipped its head, spreading its wings a little in a sort of bow. "The pleasure is mine, Navi the fairy," he murmured. "Might I be bold enough to inquire what you're doing so close to the forest's edge? It seems your charge there is saying a rather miserable farewell."

Navi looked back over her shoulder again. Link and Saria were hugging, and she felt her heart break with a sadness that was not totally her own. "The Great Deku Tree is dead, killed by a curse," she said solemnly, turning back to Kaepora Gaebora. She bowed her head. "He asked us before he died to go out into the world and—and do something for him." She wasn't sure how much she could say; if this owl was friend or foe.

"Fear not, Navi the fairy," Kaepora Gaebora said, picking up on her thoughts with alarming ease. "Though I often roam the outside lands, I have been a creature of this forest for a very, very long time. I am no friend of darkness."

Navi hesitated, figuring it couldn't hurt much to tell him a little, even if he wasn't being wholly truthful. "Well," she began, "he told us we were supposed to find Princess Zelda, and give something to her. I don't suppose you know where she is?" Navi asked hopefully. "I think I know the way to Hyrule Castle Town, but after that..."

Panicked footsteps alerted her to Link's presence; they slowed when they got close. "Navi?"

Navi turned, and immediately went to land on Link's shoulder. "Link," she said warmly, "this is Kaepora Gaebora."

Link took a step back. "The—the owl?" he asked hesitantly.

Kaepora Gaebora hooted. "Yes. And you are...?"

"This is my charge, Link," Navi said, proud to finally be able to introduce him that way. "He's the boy the Deku Tree is sending on the quest to find Zelda."

Kaepora Gaebora eyed Link for a moment, stepping forward. "Are you, now?" he murmured. There seemed to be a moment of tension, of indecision, but then— "Well!" the owl said, standing back. "I believe I can be of some assistance. I'm afraid cannot take you to Zelda—it's nearly sundown, and the drawbridge goes up in the evening. You wouldn't want to get caught out there at night as of late!" Kaepora Gaebora shuddered, all of his feathers standing on end. "But climb on my back, and I will fly you halfway."

Link's eyes widened. "Really?" he asked. "You'd do that for us?"

Kaepora Gaebora dipped his head again, smoothing out his feathers. "Certainly!" he said. "It is no trouble to me."

"Thank you so much," Navi said. "But—oh, if I may ask—where are you taking us?"

Kaepora Gaebora crouched down enough so that Link could climb on his back. "Certainly, you may ask. In fact I would insist on it. We are going about halfway between here and there, Navi...if you turn a little, there's a place where young Link might find room and board if he's willing to do a few chores in exchange. I know this word doesn't mean anything to either of you, but it's a _ranch_, owned by kind people. You'll find no danger there, and, for the time being, danger won't find you." Kaepora Gaebora turned his head almost all the way around to look over his shoulder at Link. "Up you get, Link," he said, "and watch the feet. I know you've likely not flown before, but do try to avoid pulling feathers, if you can help it—losing them smarts awfully."

* * *

Link awkwardly climbed on back of the owl, swinging one leg over and, as he'd been asked, keeping an eye on his feet. Once he was secure, arms around the owl's warm, feathery neck, the owl took off, leaving Link's stomach on the ground below them. Kaepora Gaebora burst out of the tops of the trees with a mighty flap of his wings, and for the first time, Link saw the _world_—the part of it his forest was in and the parts of it that held so much more.

He had never seen so much sun before; the light in the forest was always filtered through many layers of tree branches before it got to the ground, and so it was always a little dark, even in the brightest part of the day. Here, the sky was cloudless, the sun so bright he had to shut his eyes against it at first. Cold wind whipped against skin, and he realized just in time that his hat was slipping; he reached back with one hand, gasping at the unsteadiness of it, and grabbed it, then stuffed it down the front of his tunic to keep it safe, clinging to the owl again right after.

"Navi?" he called, voice nearly lost to the wind.

_Right here_, came the warm response, and Link let out a breath of relief when he felt her tug at his hair.

"Are you well, young Link?" Kaepora Gaebora called, turning his head a bit. "You aren't going to slip, are you?"

"I'm okay!" Link shouted. He peered down below him, stomach lurching all over again when he saw how high they were; higher than the tallest tree he'd ever seen, even the Deku Tree. Below him stretched an endless expanse of gently rolling grasslands, thick and green and lit up with sunshine. "Do we have to fly over all of that?" Link called.

"Yes!" Kaepora Gaebora answered. "Hoo, but worry not, Link! These wings of mine are much faster than the tired legs of a child. We shall get there before nightfall."

"What happens at nightfall?" Link asked.

Kaepora Gaebora spread his wings wide and swooped down a little closer to the ground, looking over it before answering. "These were bloodstained fields once, child. War came and with it came the need to bury men's bones without proper ceremony. Those bones come back at night to torture the living the way they were tortured in life."

Link's eyes were wide. "Bones?" he squeaked.

Navi tugged at Link's hair again. _Just ghost stories. Don't listen to him._

Kaepora Gaebora hooted softly, sounding amused. "I think you'll find it wise to heed my words," he said then, swooping down a little further. A moment of silence passed, and he added, "My apologies; I tend to pick up mind-talk around me. But it's no story made up to frighten youngsters. I have seen the living dead with these two eyes. War is a terrible thing. It leaves its mark on the land, long after the battles are over. Why do you think they close the drawbridge at night?"

Link could see their shadow chasing after them, far behind where they were flying. For a moment he wondered if they were going to land, but then they caught a draft and soared higher than they had yet. Link's grip tightened on the owl's feathers. "Are we almost there?" he whimpered.

"Nearly," Kaepora Gaebora answered. "Do you see that raised land out there?"

Link looked. "Uh...yeah! Is that it?"

"Yes," said the owl. "That's Lon Lon Ranch. There's no finer milk made or livestock raised than that of the ranch."

"What's livestock?"

Kaepora Gaebora chuckled. "Never you mind. You'll have plenty of time to ask questions when we get there."

Another low swoop, and they began to gradually sink towards the ground. It was a relief when Kaepora Gaebora finally reached the grasslands below them, just outside the entrance to the ranch. By the time, the sun was sinking below the horizon, and the sky was lit up with oranges and reds, more than Link had ever seen through his wall of trees, more than he could count. The sunset made their shadows long, as if they were the shadows of trees. Link was busy enough with staring that when Kaepora Gaebora landed a bit too roughly, he nearly threw Link off. But since takeoff, Link had been holding on to the owl tightly enough to make his knuckles go white and his fingers tingle with the beginnings of numbness, and he was not about to be thrown off easily.

"You can climb off now," Kaepora Gaebora told Linky, seeming rather amused. "Watch your legs," he advised.

Link swallowed and slowly uncurled his fingers, realizing his palms were sweaty when a cool breeze slid past him. He tried to get off Kaepora Gaebora's back gingerly, but he lost his balance and stumbled off instead, all but falling over with the sword on his back working against him. "So," he asked weakly, suddenly realizing how exhausted he was, "this is...you said...Lon Lon Ranch?"

Kaepora Gaebora's head was already tucked under his wing, where he was clipping the feathers Link had ruffled during his unsteady dismount. His voice muffled, he answered, "Indeed it is. The people here are very kind. I've never spoken to them, but I don't think they would refuse a young one in need."

Link sighed and plopped down in the tall grass, looking around them restlessly; mostly he couldn't stop looking at the _sky_. It seemed endless, in a way that dwarfed everything in the Lost Woods—the forests, the cliffs next to the village, the Deku Tree, everything. The world was huge. Even the grass, thick and green, came up to his shoulders now that he was sitting down. "Are there, um, adults here?"

"Of course," the owl answered. "They're everywhere outside of the forest. All children grow up and become adults one day."

Link shivered. "That must be awful."

"Not so awful as you might think," Kaepora Gaebora said, taking his head out of his wing. "Well, go on. Up on your feet, lad! If you wait much longer it will be dark."

"Oh—right." Link got wearily to his feet, wincing when his aching muscles started to throb. "Well...what do I say to them? The adults, I mean."

"Simply ask for room and board," Kaepora Gaebora said. "I'm not going with you," he added gently, at Link's expectant look. "A talking owl garners much more surprise from the people of this world than the children of the forest. Ah, and on that sad thought, Navi—I would suggest you wait for the right time to introduce yourself, my dear. Fairies are not unheard of here, but they are rather uncommon."

"I'll keep that in mind," Navi said. She did another midair curtsy. "Thank you so much for your help. Will we see you again?"

The owl hooted with laughter. "Of course you will!" he said. "We shall be meeting again, mark my word on that. And it was my pleasure, Link and Navi, truly." The owl put one foot forward and dipped himself low in a kind of half-bow. "I wish you all the best. Now, I must be going before the sun sets, and I suggest you do the same." He flapped his wings open with one quick wide _snap_, and leapt into the sky, blowing the hair back out of Link's face in the wake of his departure. "I'll see you soon!" he called behind him. "Stay strong, young ones!"

Kaepora Gaebora was flying into the setting sun. Link put a hand up to shield his eyes, but he couldn't see him anymore. He was gone.

"Well!" Navi sighed. "We're lucky we ran into him, aren't we? I really don't remember the way to the drawbridge."

Link's hand dropped from his eyes, and he shifted uncomfortably. "Drawbridge?"

"It's a moving bridge," Navi explained, but she didn't need to. "Goes up and down to keep out...unwanted visitors, I suppose. Come on, let's get out of the field. I don't want to find out whether those stories of his are true or not."

Link obeyed, trying not to think of the drawbridge in his dream.

* * *

Less than a dozen paces past the threshold of the ranch, the _smell_ hit Link like a club over the head. He didn't recognize it, but if pressed he would have said it smelled a little like the stew Saria sometimes made for his birthday, warm and inviting. His stomach growled loudly, and Link ignored it, putting his cap on his head and looking over at Navi.

"You'd better hide," he told Navi reluctantly. He hated to be here by himself...

Navi darted under his cap again, tugging lightly at his hair. "It's okay. I'm right here if you need me."

Link took a deep breath. It didn't make him feel much better, but it helped a little.

To his right was a tall wooden building, at least as tall as his house was, ladder and all. Link saw no ladder there, or even an opening that could be used as a doorway. A bridge above his head connected that building with the one to his left, each end touching a roof of one of the buildings. The one on the left was painted, a soft color that might have been white once, but was now chipped and faded and old. The space between the buildings was narrow, but Link could see the beginnings of a smaller field at the end of it.

"Hello?" he called, shifting nervously. The grass was shorter here, and it flattened under his boots. "Is...is anyone here...?" Any moment now, he might see an outsider...an _adult_...

"One second!"

The voice that called back made him jump; it was female, and surprisingly normal-sounding. He'd expected adults to sound different than children.

But she _was_ a child, he realized, when she came around the corner. She didn't look so different from the children in his village; like many of them, she had red hair, though hers was the longest he'd ever seen. Her eyes were bright blue, and they crinkled when she smiled, but her skin was darker than Link's, tanner. She had a smattering of freckles over her cheeks, and she looked younger than the children in the forest...almost like she could be his age. She wasn't wearing green, though; she was wearing a longer garment that was mostly white, with a soft cloth tied loosely around her neck.

"Hi!" she said. "What can I help you with? Are you a customer? We're about to close."

Link opened his mouth to speak, then shut it. He swallowed, but he couldn't get himself to speak.

"Hey, are you okay?" the girl asked. "Daaad!" she called, and went to the building on Link's left, yanking open what Link suddenly understood was a door; a piece of wood that swung inside. "Dad! There's a boy down here and he won't say nothin'!"

"A _boy_?" came the reply, deep and low, and Link's eyes widened. An adult. An adult was about to come out of the building. He'd heard they were as tall as trees, how could one even _fit_ in there...?

"Uh-huh!" the girl said. "He's got awfully big eyes," she added, and Link took a hesitant step back.

"I..." He cleared his throat. "I, um. I-I was wondering..."

The doorway was filled, suddenly, with the man. He wasn't as tall as a tree; he was even shorter than the door, and he stepped out of it and gave Link a critical look. He was tanner than Link was, too, rather large and round. Dark hair grew on his face around his mouth and lightly on his arms, but there was less on his head. He rubbed the empty spot as he looked at Link as though it would help him think things over. "Are you all right, son?" he asked.

"I..." Link swallowed.

"He won't say nothin'," the girl repeated. "Hey, are you shy or somethin'? It's okay, me and Dad and Ingo, we're nice folks. We'll help you out if we can, won't we, Dad?"

The man—Link could only guess his name was Dad—rubbed his bald spot again. "I reckon. What can we do for you, boy?"

_Room and board_, Navi reminded Link gently, and he jumped at the feeling of her thoughts against his. _Tell them you'll do chores tomorrow._

"I..." Link swallowed again. His throat felt tight and his hands felt shaky. His pulse was racing. "I-I was told...I mean, I...can I have room and b-board, please?" he managed finally. "I'll, um, do chores. Tomorrow. If you want."

Dad's bushy eyebrows raised. "Are you a runaway, son?" he asked. "I should take you back to your folks."

"It's too late tonight, Dad," the girl said. "It's gettin' dark."

Dad glanced at the sky, looking unhappy. "You're right. Guess that leaves me no choice. Can't very well throw you out to the things out there, huh?" he grunted. "All right, you can stay. Where do you live?"

"Um, I live...I lived...in the forest," Link said. "The—the Kokiri Village in the Lost Woods."

_You probably shouldn't have told him that_, Navi fretted.

Dad and the little girl exchanged a look. "The ones from the stories?" she asked.

Link took a shaky breath. "Um, I dunno," he said, and rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. "I used to live there, but, um, you—you can't take me home. I-I got kicked out, and..." His throat tightened, and he drew an arm across his eyes, trying not to cry. He was so _tired_, he wanted so badly to go back home and sleep for a week...

"Hey, it's okay." The girl came forward and put an arm around his shoulder. It reminded Link strongly of Saria. "We won't make you go back. Right, Dad?" She looked at the man with a pleading expression.

He frowned. "Uh, right. Why don't you c'mon inside, son, and we'll see about, ah...things." Shaking his head, he walked back in the house, and the girl let go of him to follow. Link trudged after them, doing his best to take in his new surroundings. A large table with wooden chair was in the middle of the room, and a stove sat in the corner. There were two windows with curtains, and a low counter ran below them. Plates and cups were already laid out. There were plenty of doorways here, and one even led to some stairs. Link felt like he could get lost with no trouble at all.

"I'm Malon," the girl said over her shoulder. "This is my dad. His name is Talon. What's your name?"

"M'Link," Link mumbled, head hung low. He flushed when his stomach growled again; the smell was stronger, here.

"Oh, are you hungry?" Malon asked. "We're having baked cucco and vegetable stew for dinner."

"I'm hungry," Link admitted. He didn't ask what baked cucco was; he knew vegetables and he knew they were great in stew, and that was all that mattered to him. "I'll do chores tomorrow," he said earnestly. "I just, um, I don't have anywhere to sleep..."

"Whoa, slow down there, son," said Dad—or Talon, he supposed. "You look about dead on yer feet, to be honest, don't worry about the chores. Where do you really come from?"

"I t-told you, the forest," Link said.

"Yeah, Dad!" Malon smiled. "See, 'cause he's wearing green like in the stories, and his shield is wooden. Do you have a fairy, too?" Malon asked. "I've never seen a real fairy before. Do they really grant wishes?"

"Um, some of them," Link said. "If they're good wishes."

"Do you have one?" Malon pressed.

Link hesitated, hoping Navi would jump in and give him some advice. Almost as soon as he had the thought, he felt Navi shift around under his hat and peer out.

"Hello!" she said, and she shrank back a little when she saw Talon. "My goodness, you're tall."

"Oh wow, _look_, Dad," Malon said excitedly. "A real fairy!"

"I'll be damned," Talon said, sinking down into one of the wooden chairs.

"Dad!" Malon admonished. "Now you owe a rupee to the swear jar! You shouldn't talk like that in front of fairies. She'll never grant your wish."

"It's all right," Navi said hesitantly. "And I'm not old enough to grant wishes, anyway. You have to be thousands of years old, and I'm not even a hundred yet...I'm good at helping you see in the dark, though." She flew further out of Link's cap, landed gingerly on the counter beside him. "Are you all right?" she asked Link anxiously.

He nodded, eyes on the chairs. "Um, Malon, do you think it would be all right if I sat down? I'm, uh, r-really tired."

"Oh, sure!" She pulled one out for him and waved a hand at it. "Help yourself!" She turned and hopped up on the counter, peering over at the stove and sending Navi fleeing to the table for safety. "Hey, Dad, when's it gonna be done? Less than an hour?" she asked hopefully.

Talon shook his head. "Uh. I don't know. Ingo hasn't brought the cucco yet." He looked up at Navi, as if he couldn't quite believe her. "Uh. Kid, you're...seriously...from the forest?"

"Yes," Link said uncomfortably. "Why? Is that bad?"

"Nuh-uh," Malon said. "I've always wanted to meet a forest kid, and now here you are, Fairy Boy!"

"F-Fairy Boy?" Link squeaked.

"Uh-huh. Anyway, Dad just thinks forest kids aren't real," Malon explained. "He reads about them to me but he thinks it's just a story, but I know it's not 'cause you're one and you're right here!"

"I used to think grown-ups were as tall as trees," Link admitted, and smiled a little when Malon giggled.

"Malon, honey, why don't you go see what's takin' Ingo?" Talon asked, getting heavily to his feet.

"Sure, Dad," she said, and slid off the counter. "Hey, where are you going?"

"I'm...goin' down to the cellar," Talon said, and shuffled out of the room. "I think we might be havin' whiskey with dinner tonight."

* * *

"I think Ingo might be out in the cucco coop," Malon said. "You wanna see? It's this way."

"What's a cucco?" Link asked curiously. He got to his feet and winced, rolling his shoulders. "Oh, and, uh...is it okay if I take this off for awhile?"

"What?" Malon asked, then her eyes widened. "Oh! Uh-huh! I wanna see. Where'd you get 'em?"

"The forest," Link said softly, slipping out of the sword and shield on his back. He winced as they came off, hitting the floor with a dull _thunk_, and he set his bag down a little more gently. "Is it okay to leave them here?"

"Sure," Malon said. "Dad yells at me for leaving my stuff laying around, but that looks heavy. You can carry it upstairs after dinner, 'kay?"

"Okay," Link said. He was silent as Malon looked over his things, awkwardly shifting his weight from one aching foot to the other.

"Is it heavy?" Malon asked. "Does it cut stuff good? Can I hold it?"

Link was grateful when Navi seemed to notice his discomfort. "Maybe after dinner?" she suggested hesitantly. "We were supposed to go get Ingo..."

"Oh yeah!" Malon said. She smacked her forehead. "I'm so forgetful! Dad says I'd lose my head if it wasn't screwed on good and tight." She moved towards the door and went outside. A blaze of orange sunlight poured in through the door.

Link fought down a laugh as he followed her, shielding his eyes from the sun. It was so _bright_ here. "Screwed on?" he repeated. "Who screwed it on for you?"

"I guess my dad did!" Malon said, giggling. "I'll ask him. He knows _everything_," she said. "He says he doesn't, but I know better."

"That's better than thinking you know everything when you don't," Navi said, landing on Link's shoulder. Link's hesitant smile grew wider; he knew, somehow, that she was thinking of Mido.

"Dad thinks so too," Malon said. "He says customers like that are know-it-alls, and when one comes to the ranch, he wants to stick 'em with his pitchfork and muck 'em out with the rest of the horseshit."

"What's horseshit?" Link asked.

"It means poop," Malon answered, "but it's a bad word. Dad says I'm not allowed to say it 'til I'm grown like him and Ingo."

"I guess that means I can never say bad words," Link said glumly.

"That's absolutely right," Navi told him.

* * *

The field outside the house wasn't nearly as big and wide as the one outside the ranch, but it was still a bit of a walk to the building in the back that Malon called the cucco coop. It was small and wooden, next to a larger building made of stone that Malon called a _silo_. Beside that was a heap of chopped wood Malon said they used to keep fire going on cold nights. The field had several fenced-in areas, and Malon told Link that was where they let the animals out to eat during the day.

"What kinds of animals?" Link asked, as they were reaching the door of the cucco coop. "Cuccos? You never told me what one was."

"I forgot!" Malon said. "But they're just big fat birds that can't fly. They eat birdseed and they're scared of _everything_. We feed the big animals outside. The cows and horses. I _love_ horses," Malon said, opening the door of the coop and stepping inside. "Sometimes I feel like I can almost talk to them! My favorite horse in the whole world is Strawberry. She's gonna have Fledge's baby soon. I hope it's a girl," Malon added. "Dad says if it's a boy we'll probably sell it to the soldiers, that's what we did with Fledge. But I wanna keep it."

Link wrinkled his nose as he followed Malon into the dark little building. It was nothing but a narrow hallway with one bend to it. It smelled like horseshit. Looking around, he saw fat, fluffy white things with beady eyes were all settled in boxes along the wall, nesting in some kind of dried grass. They were all staring at him, and he felt his skin crawl. Navi hid under his hat.

"Are you goin' on about that horse again, Malon?" grunted a low voice from the back. "Don't come around," it added.

"Uh-uh," Malon said. "I was tellin' Link about the horses, Ingo, 'cause he's from the forest and he doesn't know about them."

"Who's Link?" Ingo's voice called, and all the sudden there was a loud, screeching cry. The cuccos around them shifted restlessly, but there was a quiet _snap_ and then the cries were silent. "You can come on now."

"Link's a visitor," Malon said. She poked her head around the corner, and Link edged closer to her. "He's having dinner with us. Dad wanted me to see if you got the cucco yet."

Link poked his head around the corner, too. There was another adult here, taller and more wiry, thinner. He was bald, too, and he had hair on his face and arms, but it was hard to make much more in the shadow of the cucco coop. He was bent to avoid the low ceiling, sitting on a small wooden stool, and there was something still and feathery lying in his lap.

"It's right here," the man grunted. "I'll be there in a few minutes, I've got to pluck the feathers. Grab your daddy some firewood to carry on back, girl."

"Okay. C'mon," she told Link.

He didn't move; his eyes were locked on the bundle in Ingo's lap. He had just figured it out—the quiet snap, cuccos being here all around them _and_ for dinner. He was staring at Malon in shock. "But..."

"Come on!" she insisted, and tugged at his hand.

"He just _killed_ that cucco!" Link said once they were outside the coop, distressed. "It was crying, and he just—"

Malon's face softened in sympathy. "Oh, you didn't know? We have to eat meat to stay strong."

"But it was alive!" Link protested. "Life is sacred, you should _never_—"

"It's okay," Navi soothed, crawling out from under Link's hat. "It's okay, Link, don't get upset."

"I know it seems awful," Malon said, squeezing Link's hand. "I cried when Dad first told me about it. But he says everything has a start and a finish, like the sun rises and falls every day. That's the way life works."

"Not for me," Link said, feeling betrayed. "I'm never gonna get old. Nothing from the forest ever changes."

Malon made a face. "That must be awful," she said.

"Not so awful," Link protested. "Anyway, it's not fair. How do you think the cucco feels?"

Malon hung her head. "It's quick," she said, and let go of Link's hand. "And Dad says when things die only their bodies are left behind. The rest of them goes somewhere else. That's where my mom is, and one day after we're real old, me and Dad and Ingo will go and be there with her."

"Where is it?" Link asked curiously.

Malon shrugged. "No one knows! Not even Dad. He says it's a nice place, but it's s'posed to be a surprise, so we don't get to find out until we go. So the cucco's actually visiting my mom right now, see? It had a beginning, and now it has an end, and the end ain't nothin' to be sad about, not really."

"I guess," Link said uncomfortably.

"Will you help me carry some wood?" Malon asked him, leading him around to where it was stacked. "Dad's gonna need a lot if the cucco isn't even done yet."

"I'll try. I'm really tired," Link admitted. "I, um, had a long day."

"Gotta work hard even on the long days!" Malon said cheerfully. She put three heavy pieces on Link's outstretched arms. "That's what Ingo says." She took four pieces of wood for herself and started back towards the house, a spring in her step. "Dad says I gotta dream big, and Ingo says I just gotta work hard. In fact, I have to work _extra_ hard 'cause I'm a girl, and sometimes the boys in Castle Town don't think girls are good for anything even when they are. It's not fair! But life isn't fair either, that's what my dad says."

"That's silly," said Navi.

"Yeah," Link agreed breathlessly, hurrying to keep up with Malon. "My best friend is a girl, and she can do everything better than me."

"I wish I had a best friend," Malon said. "It's lonesome out here sometimes, just me and Dad and Ingo. I always have to play by myself."

"I know how that feels," Link said. "Saria was the only one who would ever play with me at home." Link swallowed a lump his throat and worked harder to keep the pace with Malon. He missed Saria so much he could hardly stand it.

"I miss my mom," Malon said sadly. "She used to play with me before she got sick. I know you're not s'posed to be sad about the end, but I miss her. Sometimes I wish she could come back and visit."

"What's a mom, anyway?" Link asked. "And a dad? You keep calling Talon that."

"You don't know?" Malon asked, surprised. "A mom and dad make a baby. That's how things get their beginning. Two cuccos make an egg, two cows make a calf, you know. And then they take care of you 'til you're grown and make a little one yourself."

"Kokiri don't have parents," Navi explained quietly. "They're created by the Deku Tree. He's the guardian of the forest, he—"

"Oh, there really is a Father Tree?" Malon asked, delighted. "That's what the stories say. He makes all the forest children and their fairies."

"That's not what we call him, but he's real." Navi landed on Malon's stack of wood. "Would you mind slowing down? Link can't keep up."

Link flushed. "I-I'm okay."

"He killed a monster today," Navi went on. "That's hard work."

"I can carry some of yours," Malon said. "But you gotta tell me more stories about Father Tree and the forest and monsters, okay? They're my favorites!"

Link sighed in relief when Malon took two of his pieces of wood away from him. "Sure," he said, and opened the door of the house for her. He set his own piece of wood down on top of hers, and sat heavily in the chair Talon had pulled out a few minutes ago. "That's easy. What do you want to know?"

* * *

Dinner passed in a stunned silence from the adults and a wave of chatter from the children. Malon and Link were fascinated with one another, and Navi was happy enough to sit on the back of Link's chair and only chime in every so often. She had been watching Link all his life, but she had never seen him so talkative, not even to Saria.

"So, which one's the cucco?"

"I'm not telling! Try it all, it's real good! Dad's the best cook ever."

Link did try a little of everything, and from what Navi could tell he liked it all. "This is different from the stuff we have at home," he told Malon. "We have small vegetables, berries, nuts...we only make stew sometimes, mostly we just eat what we find. We don't cook much..."

"We cook every night!" Malon said. "Have some more cucco. Meat gets you big and strong. You're only wimpy 'cause you never ate any."

"I-I'm not wimpy!"

"Uh-huh, you are. I can carry more firewood than you. Bet I can carry more than anyone in your whole village, even the strongest kids. You eat up. You'll blow their socks off one day! Hey Navi, you want some?" Malon asked.

Navi leaned forward, a little. "Cucco, you mean?" she asked. "I don't know, I really don't eat much..." It was one thing to ask Link to eat it; he needed to be strong for the trails ahead of him. But she was just a fairy... "I don't think I would get any better at carrying firewood."

Link turned around to offer her a tired smile. "It's really good," he coaxed, and Navi felt fondness well up in her, warm and strong. "Try some, please?"

"Well," Navi hedged, and wrung her hands together in her lap. She really couldn't say no to Link. That was going to be a problem. "I suppose. But just break me off a tiny piece!" Malon did, and Navi slid off of her place at the back of Link's chair to hop lightly down to the table, wings fluttering to help her keep her balance. She took the meat and nibbled on the very end—flavor flooded her mouth. "Oh," she said faintly, "it _is_ very good..."

"Told you so," Link said.

Later on, Talon finally found his voice.

"It's strange," he said, during the brief moment when both Link and Malon were chewing and not talking. "I never thought those old stories were real. I wouldn't believe you if I wasn't seein' this fairy here with my own two eyes."

"Some of the others at home don't believe in the outside world, or adults," Link replied. "They think the forest goes on forever and ever."

Talon shook his head slowly, and rubbed his bald spot. "What I'm havin' trouble understandin', son, is why you left. You got kicked _out_?"

Navi felt Link's mood drop before she saw the sadness flicker on his face. "Not exactly," she jumped in. "There was a disagreement with another boy in the village. He thinks he has the right to kick Link out, but he doesn't. He _doesn't_," she added pointedly to Link, when she felt his mood sink even lower. "But we would have had to leave anyway. It was just terrible timing, really."

"Why'd you have to leave?" Malon asked.

"The Deku Tree told me to," Link said.

Navi, more cautious than her charge, sent a warning thought in Link's direction. _Don't tell them the details. Don't tell them the important stuff._

Link paused, and then nodded once, at his plate. "He asked me to find Princess Zelda," he said. "I'm supposed to give something to her. Do you know how to get there from here?"

"The princess lives in the castle, I play with her sometimes if they let me," Malon said. "You gotta go to Castle Town. We sell our products there all the time, and everybody buys them because they're the best in Hyrule, that's what Dad says. And sometimes we even deliver milk to the castle itself. The king drinks Lon Lon milk, that's how good it is—"

"But where's Castle Town?" Link asked.

"Across the fields," Ingo grunted. "Half a day's walk."

"Oh, but it's only a couple of hours if you go by wagon," Malon said, "and then you don't get so tired, and you have less trouble with the peahats, and—oh, we were going to go tomorrow, right Dad?"

She gave Talon the same pleading look she had earlier when Link had stood outside with his words caught in his throat, and Navi knew then that Talon wouldn't say no because he couldn't. Navi could sympathize.

"Ye-es," Talon said slowly.

"Then it wouldn't be no trouble to give Link a ride, right?"

"I suppose not," Talon said.

"If it's royal business," Ingo said, cutting his cucco into smaller and smaller bites, "we'd best not get involved, Talon."

"I don't see how it can do any harm to give the boy a ride," Talon said. "He'd just walk otherwise. We don't have to help him in the castle gates or anything...giving somebody a ride ain't treason. So you'll be coming with us tomorrow, son," he said to Link, "and we'll make sure we see you there safely. Be a load off my conscience," he muttered.

_Mind your manners_, Navi reminded Link, but he was already speaking.

"Th-thank you," he told Talon. "Really, I couldn't imagine walking all that way...thank you. Thank you so much. Th—"

"Knock it off!" Malon said. "Gosh, you act like nobody's ever shown you a little kindness."

Link smiled a little, and Navi went over to land on his arm.

It wasn't so much that no one had shown him kindness as it was that Link was all too used to the opposite.

* * *

"Are you sure you have to leave tomorrow?" Malon asked Link and Navi as they walked upstairs after dinner. Link was so tired and full he had to lean against the wall. Malon was carrying his things.

"I'm sure," Link said, through a heavy yawn. "I have to do what the Great Deku Tree asked me to do...it's really important, or he wouldn't have asked me to do it."

"I guess," Malon said. "Only I wish sometimes kids came by the ranch more. I don't have anybody to play with."

"Maybe we'll come back," Navi said. "I don't see why not, if we have time."

Malon grinned. "That would be great." She turned a corner into a narrow hallway once she got to the top of the stairs, and opened the second door on the right. "This is the guest room," she told Link, walking into the tiny room and setting his things down by the door. There was a single bed, here, and one window that had the curtains closed over it. The walls and floor were wooden and bare. The nightstand had some kind of glass fixture over it, but other than that, the room was bare.

"It's not much, we never have overnight guests," Malon said, going over to the nightstand and turning on what Link came to understand was a lamp. It flickered on like a candle, bathing the little room in a warm glow. "It's cozy, though. My room and Dad's room are across the wall, which is lucky for you because the walls are kinda thin and Dad says I'm the only person in the whole world that can sleep through his snoring."

Link smiled, a little, and went to sit on the bed. It was surprisingly soft, though it creaked under him when he moved.

"There's extra blankets in my room, if you need one," Malon said. "It's okay to come in without knocking, but try not to wake me up if you need one 'cause we gotta get up with the sun tomorrow."

"Okay." Link leaned back on the bed, and then forward. It bounced easily with him, shifting effortlessly with his weight, and he rocked to one side, testing to see if it would go that way as well. It did.

"The bathroom's at the end of the hall," Malon added. "If you need to go."

Link stopped himself mid-rock. "Bathroom?" he asked.

Malon paused, then folded her arms. "That's right. Fairy kids don't have indoor plumbing, do they? Boy, I'll never feel like a hick again."

"What?" Link asked.

"Never mind." Malon shook her head. "You'll figure it out. If you gotta pee, it's the room at the end of the hall. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Now we wake up real early around here, especially on days when we're going to Castle Town, so you gotta get up the first time we call you, okay?"

"I'll try," Link promised.

"I'll help you," Navi said, and Link breathed a sigh of relief.

Malon lingered by the doorway, giving Link one last smile before she left. "G'night, Fairy Boy," she said. "Sleep tight, and don't let the bedbugs bite!" She shut the door lightly behind her as she left.

There was a short silence, and Link sat still on the bed, eyes on the floor.

"You must be exhausted," Navi said. "Go ahead and lie down if you want, I'll help get you up when morning comes."

"I keep forgetting how tired I am," Link admitted. There were so many new things to see here he'd completely forgotten about his fight with Gohma and everything else. "There's just so much," he began.

"I know," Navi agreed. She jumped off the edge of the nightstand to take to the air, and grabbed the tip of Link's cap to pull it off his head. "Get your boots," she told him. "You know, it's awfully different from home."

"I guess. I don't like it, though." Link pulled off his boots slowly, letting them thump down to the floor. "Everything here _dies_, Navi," Link said. "The cuccos and the people...Malon's mom died, and one day _she'll_ die...it's not fair!" Link let out a shaky breath, the tightening of his throat warning him he was about to cry. "She shouldn't have to die. No one should. I can't think of anything worse."

"Oh, Link." Navi came to rest on his left knee, looking up at him with sympathy. "It's all right. That's—that's the way the world works. Just think of all the neat things you've seen already...don't you want to be able to tell Saria about them one day? Just like she told you stories when you were younger?"

Link swallowed hard, and nodded. "When I see her again..."

Navi seemed to hear the doubt in his tone. "You'll see her again," she promised firmly. "Mido can't keep you out of the forest. The Deku Tree would never allow it." She took to the air again, went over to lift the curtain a bit and peer out the window. "Hmm." She sounded pleased. "No...it'll be good for you, Link. I've watched you for a long time, you know, and I've never seen you talk quite as much as you did today. I think you just need a little confidence, a fresh start...and this place isn't so bad. Just look!"

She drew back the curtain. Link turned around halfway, uninterested, then his eyes widened, and he scrambled to the window to get a better look. "Oh, Navi, _wow_."

At home, the constant cover of trees sheltered Link and the other children from the elements; pouring rain became gentle showers and harsh sunlight never made it past the canopy of leaves overhead. Link knew what the sky looked like; he had seen it in bits and pieces through the tangle of branches over his head. Sometimes, when Saria had coaxed him, he had even climbed a few of the taller trees to get a better look. But there was so much _more_ sky out here; so much more big wide blueness in the day and a riot of orange and pink as the sun set. And now, at night...

"There's so many of them," Link breathed.

"I know," Navi said, with a little smile. "They're beautiful, aren't they? You can see them so much better here."

The night sky was as dark as shadow, a thousand stars or more sprinkled across it. It didn't seem to end; they stretched all the way to the horizon, bright points dotting the sky and leaving almost no space between. The moon hung low above the cucco coop way on the other end of the field, a soft cloud passing by now and then, throwing the ranch into darkness.

"Saria would love this," Link said after a long moment, swallowing against the homesickness that left a lump in his throat. "She would love it...oh Navi, I wish she could see."

"Me too," Navi whispered. "But I think Kokiri die if they leave the forest. That's what I was always told by the Great Deku Tree."

Link looked down at her, surprised. "But you knew I wouldn't die."

"You're different," Navi said quickly. "He told me you'd be able to leave, one day."

"I wonder why that is," Link sighed, and shut the curtain. He walked back to the bed, drew down the covers, and climbed in. "I wish he'd had time to tell me..."

"Yeah," he heard Navi whisper, as he closed his eyes. "I wish he had too."

* * *

_He was tumbling, falling, down soft steep hills that marked the path to the Lost Woods. He was small and fragile and scared; his clothes were wet with grass stains. He could hear Mido laughing in the distance._

_"Can't make it up?" Saria's voice was kind and soothing, the only kind voice he had known in his short four years. "It's okay. I'll carry you, Link." _

_She picked him up with all the warmth of a mother, and Mido stopped laughing. They ventured into the woods together only to find the Great Deku Tree withering away before their eyes._

_"Hello, Link," he rasped, and the bark fell from his lips, and he turned to dust._

_"No!" Saria cried, dropping Link without a thought. He hit the ground hard, and he was ten again, weighted down with the sword and shield on his back, Navi at his side. _

_"It's her!" Navi shrieked. "It's Gohma! Look!"_

_The spider emerged from the ashes of the Deku Tree, hissing and writhing, black blood pouring out if its madly rolling eye. It crawled closer and closer to Link, and Saria was gone, and Navi was gone, and there were a thousand glittering stars disappearing behind Gohma's bulk as it reared up to take him out—_

_Darkness. He was standing somewhere flat and quiet and—_

He was having that dream again, wasn't he?

Yes, this was familiar. _Too_ familiar.

He was in Hyrule Field, Navi floating anxiously near his head. She was talking, but he couldn't hear her. He only had eyes for the thing before him: the gate, the drawbridge. An odd triangle symbol he had never seen before was at the top. It was huge, filling up his vision.

Clouds rolled in hard and fast, and Link felt his heart plummet to his knees.

He didn't feel the rain pouring over his skin, but he saw the lightning flash, heard the distant roll of thunder. The drawbridge fell open with a crash, and the white animal raced out of the gate, the girl on its back. She threw _something_—something blue—into the small stream under the bridge. The world went silent, and Link saw it fly from her hand and sail through the air, heard it land in the moat with a splash. He heard the currents rush past it as it sank to the bottom, heard the low clink as it gently hit the bottom of the moat.

Then the storm was rushing in his ears, and _he_ was there, that evil man that Link only now had a name for. Ganondorf was there with shadows in his hand, and all Link knew was pain.

He saw the girl standing over him, her face anxious and worried, her hand reaching out to him.

He woke with a gasp, his own hand outstretched as if he could somehow reach back.


End file.
